Wasteland
by pulchritudo in omnia
Summary: And just like that her life was broken.
1. Chapter 1

_**Prologue:**_

"_It just takes a second for my world to come crumbling down. Oh I'm sure in the distance you can hear that awful sound. Oh I plead for an answer, plead for an answer from you. But if you give me an answer, that just makes no sense then whats the use. And just like that my life is broken, I can barely breathe, and now I'm opened for suggestions. At the end of the day life is a lesson."_

_**Suggestion – Orelia Has Orchestra.**_

-.-.-

Clarissa,

I've been hearing things. Bad things. Mom and Dad don't seem to know, but I know you better. These aren't accidents; you've never been the "clumsy" type as they seem so keen on labeling you as. Coming home with bruises on your arms and legs, sometimes your face. I don't know what you've been telling them, but you can only fall down the stairs so many times before someone catches on. Please, tell me what's going on and I will help you in any way I can. I know I haven't exactly been around much lately and I am trying to prove to you that I am here for you.

Love, Jack.

-.-.-

Clarissa,

I know it's weird to get letters from me in the mail, but it would be nice if you wrote me back. It isn't _too _difficult writing out a letter, putting a stamp on it, and putting it in the mailbox so the mailman can come and bring it to me here in Mineral Town. Again, I'm sorry that I left on such a short notice, but I'm really trying to make up for it now.

Mom told me that things have taken a turn for the worse. She mentioned that you haven't been eating lately, and that you are wearing sweaters and sweatpants...and it's summer. You should be out with your friends at the beach, not holed up in your room with the lights off. She also said that you haven't seen that boyfriend of yours in a few weeks. I thought you and Dante were inseparable. Did something happen? He's not the one hurting you, is he? If he is I swear, Claire, I will come to Florida and kick his ass all the way to Mineral Town and back until he learns his lesson in touching my sister.

Love, Jack.

-.-.-

Jackson,

It's funny. You say you're here for me in all of your letters and yet I don't know anything about you anymore. I know you live in Mineral Town. I _don't _know, however, if you're single...or maybe even seeing someone. Maybe you're married; maybe you have already settled down long ago and have a baby on the way. Who's to say you aren't really in Mineral Town, and not in some run down town where you work the local strip club to make some extra cash? I haven't seen you in a year. In that year I've already forgotten what your face looks like—what your voice _sounds _like. How can you say you're here for me, when for a whole year you acted as if your family here never existed?

Don't pretend as if you know anything about Dante or me. He would never hurt me. Never. Don't even consider thinking something crazy like that about him. He loves me; he says we're going to get married one day. That's how much he loves me, Jack. He would never leave. He's not like you. He's good.

Claire.

-.-.-

Clarissa,

Ouch. I guess I deserved that. I'm definitely living in Mineral Town. There are no strip clubs around here—not that I know of. It's pretty small, but homey. Everyone is really nice here; you would love them. I am dating someone, and her name is Raquel. She's only here during the Summer with her friend, Kai. They work at a shop on the beach. Gosh, Claire, she's absolutely beautiful. I met her when I first came here, but we hit it off right away. What I wouldn't do for that woman. We don't plan on getting married any time soon, and there are no kids on the way.

You said you knew nothing about me? My favorite color is still blue, I still have brown hair, my favorite food is still spaghetti, I can burp the alphabet, and I like to sleep facing my wall. I have a dog that I named Clara. Remind you of someone? You see, I do love my little sister. It might not seem like it always, but even after all this time apart I go to bed at night wishing I could have done things differently. You knew why I left. I couldn't be what Mom and Dad wanted me to be. Medical school wasn't my calling. This might not be either, but I love it.

I struggle to make ends meat. My cows don't always produce milk and my hens don't always make eggs, I sometimes forget to water my crops and they wilt, and I've let way too many fish go that I could have sold, but this is my life now. I'm making something of myself here in Mineral Town. It's my new home, and I couldn't ask for anything better.

I'm sorry if I insulted your boyfriend. I never meant to jump the gun, but I'm worried about you. I don't want you to get hurt.

I love you, Jack.

-.-.-

Sweetheart,

Clarissa meant to write you back, but there was a horrible accident. I know it's not easy for you to get here on such a short notice, but I would really appreciate it if you came to see your sister. I will pay you the cost for transportation. I know she would love to see you; ever since your last letter she's been smiling some more around the house. She seemed happier, and then this happened.

Just try. Please.

Love always, Mom.

-.-.-

Days after the accident, Claire woke to find herself surrounded in white. White walls, white floor, white ceiling, white sheets, white cabinets; it never ended. She thought for a split second she had died and slipped away to heaven in her sleep. At least heaven would have provided her with relief, instead of the agonizing feeling of all her bruises and wounds jumping to life and making themselves aware.

A few weeks after that, however, she found herself in a much different situation. If being in the hospital seemed like heaven, then this was ten times worse than hell. The world around her turned red in her rage. The whites of her knuckles strained against the surface of her skin, her fingers etched crescents into her skin, and the pressure of her teeth against her bottom lip managed to draw blood. Her previous sanctuary vanished before her eyes, eradicated by a statement which dropped a bomb on her world.

"We think it's best that you live with your brother in Mineral Town."

_No. This is some sort of cruel joke. A sick, cruel joke. Jackson put them up to this. He must have. They're not this crazy._ But it turned out to be no joke. Her parents, in their desire to keep her far away from the stress of her current life, were sending her to live with her brother in Mineral Town. They expressed that the "fresh air and country life" would bring her the healing she required. Claire had told them she was fine—begged for them to rethink their drastic, life-changing decision. They didn't. The tickets for her flight to New York City had already been booked, and once she landed she would meet with a limo driver who would then transfer her to her ferry, which would bring her straight to her new home.

Home. It was such a lie to think of, a sin to speak. Florida was her home, nothing would change that. Rolling fields with tall blades of grass, cows grazing in the fields, sheep chewing on fodder, chickens picking away at the land, crops blooming with bright colors didn't scream _home. _It screamed change; she hadn't even been given time to process her move. To adapt. She felt like a fish out of water, placed on land and struggling to get her bearings.

A week after hearing the news she found herself on a ferry, watching the distant town grow larger and larger until she could see her brother standing on the dock with his hands in the pockets of his overalls. That face hadn't changed a bit; he might have looked a bit more scruffy with facial hair growing in along his jawline, but he held that naive air about him. And his hair was a bit longer than she remembered, kept in a ponytail behind his head. She snorted at the thought of what their mother would do if she saw him now. His hair would be the first thing to go. She always prided in her children looking _prim _and _proper _at all times, after all.

Once they docked, Jack helped Claire carry her things onto the dock. It was then that Claire realized how _overdressed _she was. While Jack seemed perfectly happy in his raggedy t-shirt underneath dirtied overalls and work boots, she stood before him clad in white shorts, a cropped shirt which bore more midriff than he liked to see on his little sister, and sunglasses bigger than necessary. But his first reaction wasn't to chastise her for her outfit. Instead he dropped her bags, pulled her into an embrace, cupped his hand around the back of her head, and nearly cried into her hair.

"You didn't come," she said, her voice a cracked whisper. Her arms didn't come up to meet her brothers broad back. Instead they dangled limp at her sides, unmoving. "I was in that hospital for two weeks and you didn't come. I waited. Mom said she was sure you were coming; she _booked _you a flight and a ferry. Where _were _you?"

Jack held her at an arms length, tears visible on his bottom lashes. They flashed for a moment before he closed them and inhaled. "I know, I'm sorry. Things got a little hectic here, what with Raquel being back. I know that's no excuse, but you have to believe me when I say getting up and leaving to go to Florida isn't as easy as you might think. I can't just expect someone to manage my farm while I'm gone; I could get help, but I would much rather do things on my own. You know me."

"No, Jack, I _don't _know you."

-.-.-

_A/N: This is going to be the only note of the whole story. This is not the typical Harvest Moon story. At least I don't think so. I'm writing more about relationships between the characters, the human condition, things that people desire, feelings, thoughts, etc in a narrative from Claire's point of view. There will be romance—as this will essentially be a love story. But I would like to focus, as I said, on the human condition. There will also be violence, suggestions of rape, abuse, drugs, etc. So it will be rated appropriately. :) Anyway, I hope you enjoy this prologue of sorts, and the beginning of a tangled web of distrust in relationships, acceptance, guilt, love, remorse, happiness and more as I try to improve on my knowledge of human behavior through one of my favorite games to write about._


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter One:**

By the time Jack and Claire reached his farm and opened the door, all Claire wanted was to lay down on a comfortable bed, close her eyes, and envision a world far away from her own. A world where she still lived back in Florida, where the sun always glinted down on her and smiled upon those who thrived below. The beach appeared in her mind, waves perfect and pristine, a deep blue even the sky would envy, people dotting the shore. Colored bathing suits flashed before her eyes, bright and beautiful. A rainbow of colors. She already missed it.

Here, in Mineral Town, clouds had already rolled in over the skies. And while she'd grown accustomed to the daily showers in Florida, Jack assured her that a storm in Mineral Town could last a full day. Which meant twenty four hours of impenetrable darkness, twenty four hours of rain, and twenty four hours of her and her brother, forced into being with each other the _whole _time.

Not that she would have ventured outside should the chance prevent itself. She didn't want to meet anyone just yet; she decided she wanted to get settled before making friends – if she happened to make any. That meant unpacking her things and learning the ropes of this _farming _thing, as much as she loathed the idea of dirtying herslf.

The whole walk to his home all Jack talked about were the different personalities she would find. The shy librarian, the grouch of a blacksmith apprentice, the shy loner, a caring doctor, the tomboy waitress – and the list continued. She'd forgotten some of the others while she'd followed him, preoccupied with the sights around her. For such a small town, she admitted it _was _beautiful. Something about the aged homes, the dilapidated fences, the forestation, and the cobblestone pathways intrigued her. Back in Florida the sights were limited. Palm trees, beaches, people clad in bikinis, and seagulls were plentiful. She welcomed the change in scenery. Almost.

"Make yourself at home. You'll be staying here for a while, I bet. And who knows? Maybe you'll love it so much you never want to leave," Jack said, placing her things on the ground in the bedroom she assumed she would be sleeping in for the duration of their living arrangements.

She snorted. "I doubt it."

Jack raised a brow at her. His arms folded across his chest. "At least give it a chance while you're here."

"I never said I wouldn't," she said, glancing around the makeshift home, "But that doesn't mean I have to enjoy it."

"No, I guess not. So what do you think of the place?"

His home seemed a little..._dated. _Paneled walls, wooden floors which creaked in places where she stepped, a bland layout, no modern pieces added here and there like her Florida home, and nothing really that screamed _excitement. _Claire pictured her mother's voice in her head at the sight of her son's home – the same son she wanted to go to medical school like her husband, saying, "_This _is where you live? You know, if you'd gone to medical school like we planned you wouldn't have to live like this." However, Claire supposed she _could _see the charm in a little farmhouse, secluded from the rest of the town, and quaint in its own little way.

"It's alright."

The young woman plopped herself down off the couch and snatched the remote off of a coffee table. Her scenery had changed, but some things remained the same, such as her afternoon soaps. Try as she might to avoid them, her mother somehow managed to have her hooked, and it had become an evening ritual between them. Oftentimes Claire slipped into a pair of pajamas and sprawled out on the couch, a box of tissues always in hand. Which was why when Jack reached over and clicked the television onto the weather station, Claire's head whipped around, blonde hair flying about.

"Do you have some sort of sick death wish_?_" A fine brow arched in question.

If there was anything she remembered about her older brother, it was their uncanny ability to fight over just about anything: that last piece of bread before the end pieces – because no one liked those – the order in which the siblings got their bathroom time, when Jack left the toilet seat up, and too many other instances to count. Him changing her soaps ranked high up there in the annoyance meter; Claire already felt the wave of her anger spreading over her mind.

"Calm down." He moved to sit beside her on the couch, eyes zeroed in on the weather forecast. "Well, at least my crops will be getting a good watering."

And so they would. By the time the sun started to set the forecast predicted downpours and thunder storms. Which meant family bonding time between the siblings. It was much needed, but Claire had planned on drawing it out much longer. After all, she had waited for him. Days slipped by in that hospital bed, wires and tubes poking out of her in more places than she could count, all of which without the one person she wanted to see. He'd made her believe he _cared. _

"Seeing as the day is going to be crummy, how about we unpack those body bags you brought with you?" Claire tossed a pillow at her brother's head, to which he laughed, "_Hey, _violence isn't necessary. I'm just kidding. They're bigger than body bags." Another pillow soared across the room and collided with a hard object.

"I can do it myself," she said, standing up and stretching her limbs. She would have to catch up on her soaps later. "I'm more than capable."

Jack narrowed his eyes in thought. "You were in a car accident a few weeks ago. You're probably still in no condition to be doing all that much."

Her doctor _had _ordered her to keep herself occupied with less strenuous activities. And while unpacking her clothes wasn't all too stressing on her body, her trip to the town proved tiring. Aches and pains radiated from her sore, bruised body, but she held her tongue. She didn't want to worry her brother. Every lesson formed a scar – every pain made a person stronger. When she hadn't died she knew it was for a reason; the Goddess knew she could push forward. The wounds she bore now she wore like badges. She had survived. A little bit of housework wouldn't kill her.

"Where do you want to start? Summer clothes seems like the best bet, since you'll be using those for now – _oh_!" Jack slipped into his bedroom for a moment, then appeared a moment later, overalls and a checkered shirt in hand. Had Claire failed to be brought up with decent manners, she would have heaved her lunch at the sight of the outfit he held aloft, dark eyes widened and glittering. "I figured since you lived on a farm, you might want to look the part."

She took the tattered overalls and shirt from her brother, teeth clenched. "I guess you're right. Huh. Thanks. I'll...er, wear them tomorrow."

At that, they found themselves on the floor of Claire's new bedroom, piles of clothes stacked high around them. They organized them by season and shoved them into the tight drawers of the dresser she'd been provided with. Her summer clothes were positioned on top for convenience sake, with her new overalls taunting her from the head of the pile. Once that was over and done with she moved her essentials like toothbrushes, hair brushes, her hair straightener, products, make up, and other cosmetics into a bin beneath her bed and stored it there until she needed them.

Jack shuffled through jackets Claire had brought along with her. "You're not going to wear this on a farm, are you?" He held aloft the puffy coat, glaring white against the drab colored room, saying, "It's going to get dirty in one day, I can guarantee it."

Claire shrugged. "Who said I'm even _helping _you with the farm. I was told I had to _live _here, not work in your favor."

His jaw tensed. "It would be nice of you – "

"Yes, but not necessary, big brother." She teased him without a care.

"Whatever," he said, straightening himself and climbing to his feet. Hooking the jacket on a hanger and placing it in the closet, Jack turned to look at his sister. "Look, I'm sorry. Okay?"

She leaned back against her hands, her sides twinging in pain where her ribs had broken. Jack failed to notice the harsh intake of breath which pulled into her lips, and the shudder she contained through gritted teeth. Blue eyes met brown ones, hers hardened against the emotions she felt. She wanted to tell him she yearned for her brother to put more time toward her – _needed _to show him he had hurt her. For a year he pretended his family meant nothing to him, only sending letters on holidays, and even those arrived late. Always an afterthought, never the focus.

Claire wanted to be his little sister again. The little sister he stayed up with at night, a flashlight under his nose, while the duo sat beneath her covers, sharing scary stories. There had been a time he would lift her up onto his back and run around with her, blonde hair whipping behind them in a stream, peals of laughter rolling from her throat. Back then things had been effortless; back then they had loved. Now he loved his farm, his new friends, his animals, his new home, _Raquel. _

"There's nothing to be sorry about." A lie. She paused and silenced. "You have a new life; you've forgotten about the old one."

Silence ensued. But this time it was Jack who didn't speak.

-.-.-

_No. No, no, no. Goddess, this cannot be happening. _

The sound of rummaging rang throughout the Huntington home, waking Jack from his slumber. Upon entering the room, Claire was already crying, tears rolling down her cheeks. She overturned her bin of cosmetics and other products and spread the contents along her bedroom floor. But they weren't there. She needed them.

"Claire, it's two in the morning, what are you doing?"

A bottle of shampoo flipped over her head and launched itself into the doorway. "I can't find them."

"...Find _what _exactly?"

"My pain killers, Jack!" She whirled around to glare at him, saying, "I must have forgotten them at home. But my ribs are killing me." Her fingers pulled at the hem of her shirt, all modesty forgotten before her brother, and revealed a set of purple ribs.

His stomach churned at the sight of his little sister's bruised body. "We'll go see Dr. Trent. He'll know what to do." Snatching his sister's hand, Jack pulled her from the home without shutting any of the lights, and walked her down the dark path leading to the Doctor's office.

Rain splattered them as they trudged along, drowned out by Claire's protesting. If there was anything in this world she hated, it was doctors. They, in her mind, were all pleasure seekers who used needles to earn that pleasure. Every time she visited a doctors office, even for a quick check up, they insisted on giving her _another _immunization. Jack knew that, but he persisted regardless of her cries to go back to his home, and whipped her around a corner. In the distance, she spotted the office, and grimaced.

Before she knew it Jack's fist rapped against the door, shouting, "Hey, Trent, wake up!"

"That's not necessary..."

"_Elli?_ Hello?"

"...I mean I can survive."

"Trent! It's serious!"

"Doctors are all perverts anyway. Always want to be touching someone's breasts and using their doctorate as an excuse for that – " Someone cleared their throat. _Heh, _she thought when her eyes focused in on the figure now standing before her that hadn't been there before. "I'm not saying that's _true_, I just happened to read that somewhere. It was in an article...in a newspaper. Long time ago. Times might have changed, which makes it irrelevant now."

_Goddess help me._

Both men eyed the blonde with raised brows. Jack held his hand over his mouth and snorted, doing his best to keep his laughter at bay. Trent, on the other hand, looked far from pleased with Claire's assessment of people in his profession. Her coverup had done little to aid that, either. She hadn't expected it to save her.

Without another word, Claire stepped inside the office and allowed her brother to lead her into the examination room. Immediately, the temperature in the room dropped and goosebumps spread along her skin. She cursed herself for not wearing more than a pair of plaid pajama pants and a camisole. Not only did it do nothing to keep her sense of modesty in front of the "good doctor," but she felt just about ready to curl up in a ball to expel the cold.

"I'll wait outside, alright? Dr. Trent knows what he's doing – "

"If he stabs me with anything _you _will pay for it later." The blonde plastered a grin upon her lips as Trent entered the room, a clipboard in hand. Jack swallowed and slipped outside the room to wait in the waiting room. "Sorry for my comment. I really didn't mean it – okay, well I _did _but only because I'm terrified of doctors. Doctors offices and doctors in general."

"I'm only here to help," he said, coming to stand beside the blonde, whose legs dangled over the edge of his examination table. She asked him on a whim why all doctors insisted on putting white paper on the padded cushion, to which he said, "Sanitary purposes. Now your brother mentioned you forgot your medication back home?"

She nodded. "Yes. I was prescribed pain killers for my ribs." He gestured for her to lift her shirt. "Well hey now, Doctor. Wouldn't you prefer asking me to dinner first? This is a bit sudden." She giggled despite herself, ignorant to the unamused twitch of Trent's lip. "Inappropriate. _Right_..."

Her voice trailed off into a whisper as Trent nodded his head. A bit hesitantly at first, her fingers curled around the hem of her shirt and lifted it just enough to reveal her ribs once more. In the bright lights danging above, the bruising appeared worse than she'd remembered. She even caught the low exhale that passed from Trent's lips upon seeing the extent of her accident.

"What happened here?"

"...A car accident. Cars and poles don't mesh well together."

"_You bitch!" _

"I hit the dashboard with my head – suffered from a pretty serious concussion-"

"_What did you say to him? Why is he saying these things? It's ridiculous!" _

" – I don't remember how, but I was ejected from the passenger's side of the car."

"_Get out! Get the _fuck _out of this car. Right. Now. You're a lying bitch. You told him, didn't you?" _

"And I woke up a week later like this..."

"I will prescribe you pain medication. For now, take things easy. I can imagine your brother will want you to start helping him with his farm, but your health is much more important, and seeing as this accident is fairly recent, you need time to heal internally, as much as you do externally." The doctor scribbled something down on a piece of paper and handed it to Claire. "Those are directions for how much to take, and _when _to take them; make sure you follow this closely. Just give me a moment to grab you the medication."

"Er...Doctor?"

He lingered in the doorway. "It's two in the morning, you are more than welcome to call me by my name...uh – "

"It's Claire."

His head dipped. "Claire," he said, her voice producing a smile between the both of them. Silence settled over the room. Their heads bowed low, cheeks flushed in nervousness. This was the first of many Claire had yet to meet in her new _home. _Oddly enough his presence was welcomed; for a moment she'd even forgotten just how much she loathed doctors. Trent cleared his throat and rubbed a hand through his dark hair, saying, "welcome to Mineral Town."

"Thank you, _Trent._"


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Two:**

"It's hot out," Claire said, pushing her overalls over her shoulder for the fiftieth time since she'd put them on. She counted. "And Dr. Trent said I shouldn't overexert. You're going to push me to my _death._"

Jack stared at her, a blank expression on his face. "Someone is being over-dramatic. All I asked was for you to go to the beach and collect some herbs."

"I might get lost. They'll warrant a search party for my sake – "

"Keep in mind no one here knows you – well, except for Trent. But he doesn't count. Not really. He's the town doctor and doesn't really get out much," he said, heaving his hoe over his head.

"He seemed nice enough." And handsome, with that dark hair and eyes of his, but she decided to keep that to herself. "Didn't stab me with anything. That's always a plus."

"Are you going to get going?"

"Depends, are you going to give me money for a snow cone?"

Jack reached into his pocket to collect money for her silly snow cone. "Before I give you this, you have to promise me you _won't _get sidetracked by Kai, okay? He's bad company. I don't even like that Raquel works with him – "

"Ah, that's right. Raquel." Claire snatched the money from her brother's palm, saying, "I'll get to meet the girl who stole my brother from me."

He pressed his lips together in a firm line. "Claire, you better be nice to her. If I find out you were anything but charming – "

" – You'll kill me," Claire said, finishing his statement for him. "Dearest brother, now why would you think I would be anything _but _a sweetheart to her? I am deeply hurt."

"Somehow I find _that_ hard to believe." He raised his brows at her before turning back to his work and ending their conversation all together.

Claire shrugged her shoulders, money in hand, and marched down the path leading to the town. If she remembered correctly, she would make the first turn after leaving the farm, then carried the path to the end, headed north, and turned right in the square, which would lead her straight to the beach. The shack Kai and Raquel worked she saw upon coming to Mineral Town, but the tiny little sea shop had caught her attention. It almost reminded her of home – _almost._

The air smelled like salt water as soon as she walked down the small board walk that disappeared beneath a layer of sand. Basket in hand, she wandered about the beach, collecting the different colored herbs her brother ordered her to gather. In her mind she couldn't help but to compare them to clovers. A grin blossomed on her lips, however, when a particularly pretty shell caught her attention, shining pink in the light. _Hm, _she thought, running her thumb over it, _I could make this into a necklace. That's farmer-like, right?_

Stuffing that in her pocket for safekeeping, she continued to search for the rest of the herbs, grimacing when she found no more. With a shrug, she flounced off toward the shack, tugging the strap of her overalls over her shoulder again. She made a mental note to try to make the shoulders tighter, to ensure they wouldn't keep falling off like they had.

The door jingled when she entered, and the sound of a female's voice flitted around the empty space. Before Claire formed a proper reply, a head of raven hair appeared from behind the counter, only to disappear again in a loud _thud. _Followed by a crash. And a few more thuds. Claire noticed a peach even skitter out from under the counter and bump into the toe of her shoe.

"Goddess, Kai is going to _kill _me," she said, scrambling to gather the smashed fruits and salvage the ones which hadn't been damaged in the fall. Claire handed her the peach near her foot and offered a genuine smile. "I'm _so _sorry. I'm usually not this clumsy...I'm Raquel. I don't think I've seen you before."

"Claire."

Raquel's back straightened at this. "Oh – _oh! _That's right! You're Jack's little sister; he's told me so much about you – " The young woman climbed out from behind the counter, laughing at the mess she created. Claire laughed, too, beaming despite herself. "Did you just stop by to say hi, or were you going to buy something...or – oh, that sounds rude. If you're hungry I'll have Kai whip something up. I'm not too great at cooking; I mostly help with sales and serving." Raquel pointed at the mess in the corner, saying, "But clearly today is not one of my better days."

"I was actually going to get a snow cone," Claire said, shrugging. "But if it's going to be a problem, don't worry about it. I'd much rather meet my brothers..._girlfriend?_"

Raquel jotted something down on a notepad and shoved it under a door, shouting, "Kai, we've got a customer! Your brother has been very good to me, he's great – "

"I know. He sounded very fond of you in his letters." Fond enough to spend time with his girlfriend in Mineral Town, while his sister struggled to get better in the hospital miles away.

Raquel sobered. "I'm sorry about your accident."

"Thank you." Claire smiled. "So, tell me...how did my oddball of a brother attract _your_ attention?"

Raquel _was _rather pretty, after all. Not her brother's usual type by any means. Back at home he dated girls who were a bit more...reserved, their noses always in books. Raquel, at first glance, seemed like a free spirit with her dark hair, wild green eyes, and hair extensions of all different colors. On top of that, she stood before Claire in clothes that looked like they came out of one of her favorite vintage shops back in Florida. Her style was unalike to that of the girls Jack had dated back home, with their buttoned up cashmere sweaters, button up tops, pleated skirts, knee high socks and better-than-you attitudes.

Before the brunette answered, a tanned male appeared before Claire, holding out a snow cone with a smirk stretched across his lips. "So this is the Claire Jack's been talking about. He never said she was beautiful – "

"Goddess, Kai. The girl just got here yesterday, don't want to _completely_ mortify her into never coming here again like you have with all the other ladies in this town." Raquel stuck her tongue out as Kai ruffled the hair on her head, chuckling and muttering a quick _shut up _to her. "Don't mind him; he doesn't realize how much of a creep he is."

"You wound me," Kai said, clapping a hand over his chest. "Anyway, one strawberry snow cone for the lovely lady."

"Alright, alright...go back to your cave lover boy." Raquel pressed a hand to his chest.

Claire shrugged. "I don't mind him here. It's about time I meet some of the locals anyway." She turned to Kai, grinning. "We were just talking about how my brother, Jack, and Raquel met."

"Only if I get to stare at you while doing so," he said, the corner of his mouth pulling upward.

Raquel shoved her finger in her mouth. "Gag me."

And so they sat, huddled together around the table, listening to Raquel tell a story which upturned her lips into a smile. They met on a rainy summer's day. Jack had been fishing, but when the clouds rolled in he packed his things and started walking toward the square, when he noticed a figure struggling to fold up the umbrellas scattered along the beach in order to prevent them from flying away. He came to her rescue and helped her carry them inside, then spent the day with her, talking about anything and everything. Apparently they had a lot in common – they were also _in love_. Or so it seemed. Despite the short time of knowing each other, they spent every day growing closer, and developed feelings Claire wasn't sure existed.

She had _loved _Dante, but there was a difference between loving someone and being _in love_ with someone. Anyone could love. Sometimes, however, love blossomed into something..._more_ – something indescribable. Claire oftentimes saw it in movies or read about it in cliched romance novels, yet here Raquel sat, with a light in her eyes so bright Claire brushed her finger under her lashes, only to find tears there when she pulled away. She loved her brother, and if Raquel made him happy, then she appreciated her for doing so.

Glancing up at the clock, Claire realized that her brother's shipments would be collected soon, and snatched her basket from off the ground. He would kill her if she didn't make it back in time, costing him a few extra G for the day. Not that it mattered; his farm produced more money than she initially thought. With his extensive amount of chickens, some cows and sheep, his farm made more than enough money to support both siblings. But Jack, being the man he was, never settled for less. He always pushed for more.

"I didn't realize how late it was," Claire said, her eyes widening. "Jack's going to have my head on his fence if I don't get back soon. I'll see the two of you...maybe tomorrow?"

"Sure. Bye, Claire. Nice meeting you." Raquel smiled.

"Stop by any time you want, gorgeous."

Claire blushed and tossed some money on the table. "For the snow cone."

Kai smirked yet again, but this time it unnerved Claire. She felt like she'd seen that look before – that _face. _Her head shook as she turned around toward the door. _There's no way. I just met him now. I've never met the guy before. _Her stomach twisted painfully, until the breath slipped from her chest, and she stepped out into the sun.

-.-.-

After sneaking the herbs into his shipping bin, Claire entered their home and glanced around for any sight of the dark haired man she called her brother. Clara bounced around Claire's feet, yipping and barking at her if she moved even the slightest toward the kitchen. Annoyed, Claire tossed a piece of old bacon from earlier that morning at the young pup, and walked toward her brother's bedroom.

It was there she found him, turned toward his wall, fast asleep, an arm sprawled over his eyes to hide his face from sight. Claire shuffled across the floor and pulled his dirtied hat from off his head, placed it on the nightstand beside her, and pushed his bangs away with the tips of her fingers. He stirred and opened his eyes.

"Go back to sleep, Jack," she said, "You're tired; you need rest."

"Someone's being awfully nice. Planning on killing me later?"

She shook her head. "No, don't worry about that. When I do plan to kill you, you won't have any idea it's coming. Really though, I just got back from spending time with Raquel and Kai, and now I think I'm going to walk around town a bit and meet some more people. Don't wait up for me."

"Actually, I had planned to bring you to the beach later tonight. I invited a bunch of the townsfolk – young and old," he said into his pillow, yawning. "I'll get up; I've been sleeping long enough anyway." He glanced at his sister, considering. "You _were _nice to Raquel, right?"

"No, I told her I hated her and thought it best she flee from Mineral Town before I plotted to kill her in her sleep," Claire said, her face hardened and lips pressed together.

Jack's eye twitched. "I'm hoping you're kidding – if not, Goddess help us both."

With that, Claire snatched a pillow from her brother's bed and whacked him over the head with it. The strike sent him tumbling back against the sheets, along with a few feathers drifting about the room. A smirk tugged on Jack's lips as he grabbed a pillow of his own and smacked Claire's side with it. Her body tumbled onto the ground, foot tangling in sheets as she went, and her rump slammed against the wooden floor. Jack grimaced, fear splayed across his face, before the blonde broke out into laughter and launched herself onto her brother once more, unleashing her might in the form of another blow to his head. Followed by another, and another.

They battled back and fourth for minutes, until all sense of time drifted from either of their minds. Whether it was a half hour, or an hour, they cared very little. And the sound of laughter echoed around the room, along with yips from Clara, who pounced on feathers which floated in every direction. By the time their war ended, the room was more or less covered in the white things, and both siblings huffed and puffed to catch their air, still trembling with mirth.

"I'm sorry."

Claire's lip trembled. "Don't, just don't."

"Claire..."

"_No. _I said don't." She choked on a sob.

"Are you crying?" Jack tugged on her shoulder, but she curled up on her side into a ball, with an arm slung over her eyes. "Come on, talk to me."

"I don't want to talk about it," she said, sobbing into his shoulder. "If I talk about it I'll think about it – I'll admit that it happened."

"You're in denial about this? About what? If you won't tell me we'll never be able to help you – "

"That's what all the doctors have said. But I don't want to talk about it; I'm not ready to. I don't know if I ever will be." Her fingers curled in her brother's shirt, trembling there. "I can still hear the screeching of the tires and the sound the car made when it hit that pole...I can hear the screaming. Smell the smoke. It's there. It's still there. I just want it to go away, Jack."

He pulled her close to his chest, tucking her forehead against his chest, and resting his chin against the crown of her head. Together they lingered in silence, rubbed raw and opened before one another. She wanted to forget – wanted to forget the sounds, sights, smells_...everything. _Her parents shipped her away to heal her, but she struggled when the smallest of things reminded her of that day. Sniffling, Claire jerked her head upward at the feel of water on her scalp to see her brother with tears in his eyes, shedding the tears of his guilt.

"I should have been there...I should have come for one day, if anything. I left you there in that hospital bed." She curled her fingers around his. "I left you with Mom and Dad for a year, I made you forget about me. You have no reason to treat me with kindness like you have been; I don't deserve it."

"At the end of the day, even with all that has happened lately, you're still my brother." She squeezed his hand. "At the end of the day I still love you."


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Three:**

After both siblings quieted with their crying, they hurried to prepare themselves for the beach get together planned for the evening. Claire raced about the home, tossing outfits around in search for the best. She settled on a green button up shirt with short sleeves and a pair of denim shorts. Jack, on the other hand, seemed more than content wearing his overalls – _again. _Claire shrugged off his lazy attire choice, deciding it was one of the many changes he went through after coming to the small town.

Once satisfied, she applied some make up and pinned her hair back in a french braid. Her bangs and a few wisps of hair fell from the sides, outlining her face in the slightest. _Goddess, Mom would have a fit if she knew what I was wearing, _Claire thought, imagining some of the outfits she'd left behind. All those button up cashmere sweaters, pleated pants, pleated skirts, buttoned up tops, knee high socks...the joys of going to private schools and living with haughty parents. If there was one thing she enjoyed about Mineral Town, it was the liberating feeling of wearing the outfits she'd bought in secret and wore out with her friends behind her parents backs.

They prided in what people saw when they looked at them, which meant their children mirror their pristine exteriors. Superficiality thrived in her home, and she hated every bit of it, but she never denied she felt that tug of judgment. It was a work in progress, she decided, to become every bit different from her parents. In a sense, she envied Jack for breaking free of that mold their parents placed before them. They wanted him to attend medical school, and Claire had finished prerequisites for nursing school, signed up for the program, and then had her accident. Neither of them wanted that, though.

Still, it surprised her Jack ended up on a farm, of all places. Now she lived on one, too. And though she wondered over whether or not she would help him with his work, the idea seemed less and less daunting when compared to the nursing program she would have forced herself to endure. She wasn't too sure about the farming aspects of living with her brother, but welcomed the _party, _as he called it, he was throwing in her honor. Maybe she'd find a friend – or two. Real, genuine friends to keep her occupied during her stay. Who knew how long that would be? Might as well make it worth while.

People of all ages awaited them along the beach. The sight in itself made Claire's eyes widen. Tiki torches littered the sand, illuminating the night and enveloping everyone in a warm glow. Raquel and Kai raced along the beach to bring people their food, bright smiles on their faces, waving to them both when they arrived. It was then, however, that Claire realized she was, in fact, quite nervous. It wasn't everyday she managed to find herself surrounded by the company of strangers – it wasn't everyday she needed to _worry_ about fitting in. Back home she accompanied herself with those she cheered with on her school's varsity squad. Being a cheerleader and the daughter of wealthy parents meant an easy, if not busy, lifestyle.

"Well _hello _there, beautiful." Kai swirled around Claire with a tray propped up on his extended arm, his face inches from her own, a grin plastered on his lips. "I'm holding you to your word on a dance later."

"I never agreed to dance with you, though-"

Kai disappeared before she finished. With a bemused look on her face, Claire turned around to assure her brother once more she could defend herself against Kai's lures, and found that he no longer remained at her side. Instead she found him seated at a table with Raquel and a pink-haired female, as well as a highly intoxicated looking woman and a bespectacled man beside her. The blonde shouted at the pink-haired beauty, while clutching the inebriated brunette beside him. Jack was also shouting along with the man, pointing accusing fingers at the girl sitting near him and Claire herself.

Claire glowered at her brother's annoyance on her behalf and walked along the shoreline where two young children raced along the water. The young boy darted around Claire with a doll in his grasp, positioning himself behind her legs. On the other hand, the little girl whined and pleaded with the little boy to give her doll back, tears glistening in her eyes. Claire, though not accustomed to young children, hunched down low on the ground and pulled both children on either side of her, giggling.

"What's going on here, you two?" she asked, shaking both of their arms lightly to try to lighten the mood.

The little girl's lip trembled. "Stu took my doll!"

"It's just a stupid doll, May! _Geesh_!" Stu stamped his foot against the ground. "If you want your stupid doll back so bad – go catch it!"

Thankfully, just as Stu launched the doll into the air, Dr. Trent stepped in the way and prevented it from landing in the ocean. His calculated gaze fell on the three of them, an annoyed glint in his eye. His shoulders were squared and his lips tugged into a straight line. Oh no, he wasn't amused at all. Claire wondered how silly it would look if she pushed Stu in front of her and cowered behind him as he did her. Anything was better than the doctor's intense stare; it made her wonder what lingered beneath the serious doctor's exterior. Always protected by that facade of the "good doctor", never allowing people to see the _real _him.

Was he a romantic? Did he secretly wish he could change something about himself? Did he yearn for something? Anything. Claire's eyes grazed the curve of his jaw, to the line of his throat, and the barely visible chest poking out from his v-neck tee-shirt. She swallowed and watched without a word as he bent down and tucked the doll in May's extended hands. Stu's hand curled around Claire's and tugged on it, drawing her attention to him. Instead she smiled at the doctor and was none too surprised when he dipped his head and walked away.

Their first meeting hadn't gone too poorly, but the fact that he didn't acknowledge her irked her. "Well, that was rude," Claire said, more to herself than the children.

"He's always like that." Stu looked up at Claire, then glanced over to May, shrugging at the little girl. "We haven't seen you around before. Are you new?"

"I just moved in with my brother, Jack. I'll be here for a while."

Her heart throbbed at the very thought. Everything she knew and loved was back home. Her parents, her friends, her old school, _Dante. _Try as she might to forget him, his face still burned in the back of her mind when all she wanted was some semblance of peace. Even in her sleep, where she prayed for happy dreams and slumber filled nights, he appeared before her. Always smiling that smile of his. It chilled her to the bone and left her rubbed raw. Yet she found it in herself to love him, even after all he had done, and would continue to have done if she hadn't come to Mineral Town.

"You're Jack's sister? He said you would be coming but...you don't look like a farmer," Stu said, his eyes widened. "You're too much of a _girl._"

"_Duh, _Stu. You can be so stupid sometimes." May folded her arms tighter around her doll, nuzzled it with her cheek.

"It's no problem, May," Claire said, shrugging. "I knew people would think that. Honestly, I don't really care much for the whole farm life here; it never interested me, but that doesn't mean I won't try."

"It's fun! Grandpa owns a farm of his own, you should come by sometime. Our dog had puppies – I'm sure Grandpa would give you one!"

"Not before you come play with _me _first," Stu said, tugging on her arm once again. "My sister never plays with me because she's always busy working with the doctor." He scrunched his face up and continued, "You should meet her. Come on!"

And so Stu and May pulled Claire along the beach and introduced them to every person they encountered. Overwhelmed and head reeling, Claire had to mentally keep a note of every person she was introduced to. There were so many, and by the end of the introductions Claire vaguely remembered any besides the younger residents of the town. Particularly Karen and her intoxicated state which entertained the blonde much more than it should have. That, and Rick, who alternated between bickering with his sister Popuri, threatening Kai's life with Jack, and complaining to Karen about going home.

"He's a no good rotten _dog _– a _dog. _He likes to snatch people up -"

"Like the dog that attacks our chickens, Rick?" Popuri tilted her head to the side.

Everyone around her blanched. Claire glanced over to her brother with her eyes widened, unsure of whether or not to hold her tongue. Popuri couldn't have been serious, could she? She shook the thought away and propped both Stu and May on a chair beside her, giggled as the two pinched each other. Jack and Rick resumed a heated debate over which ways they could ship Kai back to his hometown, while Raquel defended the traveler – and her "dearest friend" – and cowered when Jack demanded she take her words back. Claire found herself distracted, however, while she snacked on her hamburger and french fries.

"I think we should rip that stupid bandana of his off his head and show the girls that he's really bald!" Rick shouted. His fist slammed against the table. Glasses rattled in their protests.

"And if he isn't bald, we might as well shave his head anyway!" Jack and Rick high-fived across the table, smirks along their lips.

"But you just gave away your plan..." Popuri said, her voice low.

"No, really." Karen rolled her eyes before she knocked back what looked to be a shot glass.

Their voices faded into the background. Claire glanced over her shoulder at the doctor, who was in what looked to be a deep conversation with Mary, Gray, Elli and Kai. Interested, she excused herself from the table and walked over. Much to her pleasure, Kai draped an arm around her and led her around the table, introducing her once again to all of her neighbors. Her eyes lingered on Trent, however, who dipped his head in greeting when they stopped in front of him.

"How are you feeling, Claire?" he asked, running his fingers through his hair.

For a moment Claire struggled to understand what he had meant by his question, then slapped her palm against her forehead. A hand moved to her bruised ribs without her realizing and rubbed the raw skin hidden beneath her shirt. They twinged in protest, but not to the extent they had been as of late. She smiled at the doctor.

"I'm feeling a lot better, thanks to you," she said, hiding the blush which filled her cheeks. _"He's practically thirty, Claire. He might even be thirty. Stupid."_

"That's always good to hear. If you ever need me I am willing to help."

"_Anyway_ – like I was saying, I really am considering staying after this summer. I know I usually change and head for the next town over, but I haven't really made much money this season and I don't know if I'll be able to afford a trip elsewhere," Kai said, his lips pulling downward.

"You have no savings...or anything?" Mary asked from within the cage of her boyfriend, Gray's, arms.

"Any money I make I usually put towards my next trip and the ingredients I need for my food – that's it."

"You haven't thought of fund raising, have you?" Trent looked hopeful.

"No, not really."

"It's a good idea, though." Claire squeezed the forearm draped along her shoulder. Trent's eyes widened in what looked to be surprise; she wondered why it seemed so impossible to him for her to agree. "You could have some sort of event...maybe a party for the young adults here. A bonfire – or a little camping trip. I've seen plenty of forestation around here. You could cook for us."

Kai's head cocked to the side. "You think people would pay for me to cook for us to go on a camping trip or for a party?"

"Seeing as _Karen_ can't cook, I'd say you have a customer already." Gray laughed.

"You guys might be onto something here. I'll have to think about it, and let everyone know what I decide." Kai chuckled, pulling Claire closer, saying, "Now how about that dance you promised me."

"I never promised you anything," Claire said, poking him in the chest.

"Leave the poor girl alone, Kai," Elli said, giggling beside Trent.

Gray and Mary cupped their hands over their mouths to contain their laughter while Kai proceeded to wrap his arms around the girl's waist and tug her over to where other couples were dancing. Despite the protests her ribs screamed out, and her own voiced ones, Kai continued to drag her along, a grin settled over his tanned face. Once they were close enough to the other couples, he moved so his hands smoothed along her hips, and hers wrapped around his neck. A blush crept up on Claire's cheeks. Somewhere in the distance she imagined Jack and Rick's astonished faces at the thought of her being forced to dance with the "mongrel."

"Can I ask you why it is I find you so familiar?" Kai asked, pushing a golden strand of hair away from her face. He tucked it behind her ear.

"We met the other day, remember?"

Claire bit her lip. She envisioned meeting Kai once before as well. He looked familiar. If only she could pinpoint where – _oh_. Her movements screeched to a halt, along with Kai's. Worry crossed his face for a moment, which settled into clear discomfort as he, too, recognized where he had seen her last. Head reeling, she dragged Kai over to his shack and tugged him inside. To others it would look like something to gossip about, and she prepared herself to wave the rumors away, but this needed to be fixed before anything came of it.

"_You're a stupid slut, Claire. Always a stupid slut. You're good for nothing-" _

"_Come on, man. You need to calm down-" _

"_Kai, shut up. This isn't your business." Dante's grip strained purple against Claire's pale skin. "Why were you with Kai and Matt? Did you have sex with both of them like the slut you are."_

"_No, that's crazy." Claire didn't even feel the slap. But the burn after it came made her eyes water. _

"_You're a liar."_

"_Dante...we-"_

"_Shut up, Kai!"_

"You're one of Dante's friends. I remember you were with Matt when he picked me up to take me to the movies."

Claire's eyes watered with new tears. Just when she imagined her life would become Dante-free, one of his friends of the past wandered into her life and erased any false hopes of safety. The slap of the memory whipped across her cheek, just as raw and painful as the day it happened. Alarmed, Kai took a step back from the blonde and pressed his palm over his forehead.

"You can't tell him I'm here, Kai-"

"I wouldn't. Goddess, Claire, when I saw what he did to you – how could you have put up with that for so long? And then Matt told me about the accident..." Kai's voice trailed off into a sigh.

"I would rather not talk about it. I'm here now and Dante has no idea where I have gone off to. This is probably the last place he would think to look – heck, I don't think anyone would look here. And I would rather keep my whereabouts a secret for now. So please, don't say anything to him; you say you won't, but I only met you a handful of times in the past, so I can't be too safe."

"I wouldn't. I couldn't believe what he had done in the first place," Kai said, moving closer to her. She took a step backward. "No one deserves that. Only a coward would put his hands on a girl like that."

"I don't need the pity."

She didn't need anyone's pity. Had she known the love of her life would change so drastically over the two years they were together, she would have backed away before she buried herself in too deep within his presence. He loved her; he loved her so much he couldn't help but to _hurt her_, and she allowed herself to believe those lies. He promised they would be together forever, and not even death would separate them. He told her she would live a life of happiness and yet her world remained in darkness. Purples, blacks, blues, and yellows. Like the stages of her bruises when they changed colors, his love for her, too, changed.

And she believed him. Every word of it. Everyday she held fast onto that glimmer of hope that he would change; she prayed to the Goddess she would restore him to how he was before he changed. He never did, though. When the accident happened, to her, it was the last straw. How could anyone go on after coming so close to death? She was given a second chance at life, and if she had her way he wouldn't be in it.

It should have been that way from the start.


	5. Chapter 5

**Wasteland Chapter Four:**

Claire rubbed her makeup beneath her eyes, removed any excess from her tears. Kai stood a few feet away, his fingers spread between two blinds to assess the scene outside. She imagined the rumors already, of which Manna would create with Sasha and Anna, and cringed at the thought. Two "tourists" or "temporary" citizens, already shacked up together and deemed scandalous before the eyes of the others.

In the back of her mind, her mother's words about there "being no _bad _publicity" sounded off in her ears. But when surrounded by modest people, bad publicity worried her. She desired no false accusations against her character. None the less, her brother would murder her if word about a intimate encounter that happened met his ears before hearing it from her first.

She stepped beside Kai and glanced out the window. People milled about with plates in hand. They laughed together and formed memories with one another. Part of her envied them; she wanted to have memories here in Mineral Town – wanted to create lasting relationships with the people there and not regret anything. Old memories of her past slipped through her fingers like the sand littered beach. It was only a matter of time before she lost grasp over them and they drifted away in the wind.

The woman stepped closer to Kai. His eyes never met hers. They lingered in the distance unmoved and unfocused. Storms brewed within them, of which she imagined filled with guilt over her previous relationship. He hadn't known; or rather, he hadn't known what to do at the time. She had insisted him to never speak of Dante's behavior – to act as if it never happened. The scars on her heart reminded her that all the acting in the world would never repair the marred muscle in its wake.

"Don't say anything, Kai. You had barely known me or the situation," she said, pulling his chin to focus it on her face. His eyes fogged over. "This is not your fault. And you can help me now by never speaking of me to _anyone. _It is better he believes me gone for good. But you cannot speak to his friends either. None of them."

He had no words, only shook his head. Satisfied, she held aloft her pinky and curled it around his. No words were spoken, but they didn't need to be. Their quieted promise screamed out across their minds. _Never speak of this day. Promise. _He would pretend he had never seen her, and she believed him. Claire cleared her throat and smoothed her sweaty palms over her shorts. Her hand curled around the doorknob.

"We need to make it look like I helped you -" At the perverted look on Kai's face, Claire thwacked the boy atop the head. "Not in that way, sicko. I mean as in making something – anything. I don't want us walking out together turning the rumor mill around here."

Kai dipped his head and disappeared out of the room. When he returned a few minutes later a tray of snow cones were leveled in front of her face. For good measure, she snatched one of her own and opened the door for him, prepared for the onslaught of questioning coming from both her brother and some of the more conversational women of Mineral Town. Instead, she was met with no acknowledgment. Couples still dotted the dance floor, their faces bent low, hands clasped together, movements slowed. In the back of the crowd Claire noticed Raquel and her brother. She had her forehead pressed against the curve of his neck, ear against his heart. A silent _I love you_ through touch.

Claire's eyes traveled behind her, up an arm, and met a pair of shaded eyes. Kai watched Raquel's every movement, his lips stretched downward, fingers trembling beneath the tray he propped. Alarmed, Claire gripped the tray from the man and placed it on a table nearby. When she returned to Kai's side she pressed her palm to his back and jolted him from his silent reverie. She pretended it hadn't been of the woman her brother loved.

"Hey..." Claire whirled around and positioned herself in front of Kai. "Seeing as you're the one person who I have actually held a conversation with, why not dance with me?"

"Not worried about the ladies talking?"

She shrugged. "They didn't notice us go into the shack, but us dancing wouldn't create too much of a buzz."

To get his mind off of the scene presented before him they swayed back and fourth on the sand with the other couples. It didn't last long, for an excited squeal sounded from Raquel. All turned to look in the direction her voice originated to find Jack bent down on one knee, a blue feather extended before him. Confused, Claire cocked her head to the side. People crowded around the couple and cheered as Raquel nodded her head.

The ring that followed Claire understood. The ring meant now. It meant forever – forever and a day. It meant the eternity their lives would allow them until they both passed on and were together once more. It meant new possibilities, a new beginning of a story together. They were about to open that first page and start writing those first few words. And they were the most important; they made the story, or forced a person to shut the book once more, determined to never finish. Now started the wait until the walk down the aisle. The walk into each others arms where they hoped to remain forever.

When she glanced over her shoulder to gauge Kai's expression, he was already walking away in the other direction.

-.-.-

With the approaching weekend camp event growing closer and closer, Claire was forced by both Jack and Trent to have another exam to assess the lingering damage from the car accident. Which brought her to her current predicament: sprawled out on an uncomfortable examination table, her suspenders rolled down to her hips and her shirt rolled up to the band of her bra. A set of chilled hands poked and prodded along the barely tender areas, his eyes focused on her ribcage. She wanted him to look at her face – if only to steady the thrum of her heart within the peak of her chest; by the look on his pink tinged face, he could feel it beneath his finger tips.

"All seems to be well," Trent said, walking over to a table in the far corner. He snatched something off of it, a sight Claire knew too much of. Immediately she pushed herself backward against the wall and shook her head at the offending needle. "Might as well get it over with now, Claire, with flu season beginning in a little less than a week."

"Not necessary. I never get sick -"

"Move your hands Claire." Trent pulled at the hands she wrapped around both her arms. "You're acting like a _child._ I can't begin to fathom how your brother gets you to do anything-"

"Watch where you're about to go, _Doctor Trent._" He tread on dangerous ground. "You know _nothing _about me."

He growled and placed the needle off to the side. "I know you're nineteen. You graduated top of your class at Woodstock High." He pushed her head to the side, brushed his thumb along her jawline, and said, "The bruise you had here when you came to me that first night wasn't from the accident."

Her jaw clenched. She didn't like where he was about to go. He made her feel naked – a little more than her clothes already exposed to him. Rubbed raw and opened up before him. All her scarred parts displayed for him, able to be poked at. Ripped apart. He knew nothing about her, and yet knew too much. Too much, too soon; she didn't want anyone to know about her past. And yet her brother knew, her family knew, and Kai knew. The fact that Trent figured it out on his own worried her. Was the lingering pain on her face so apparent?

"I know you didn't deserve it. No woman does."

"How did you figure it out?"

"You scare easily. But only from men." His dark eyes focused on hers. The hand on her face remained stilled against her skin. "At the beach party, when I came up to you after Jack had proposed to Raquel, I put my hand on your shoulder. You ducked out of the way and covered your face with your forearms." He lifted one of her forearms, where scars from previous encounters with Dante dotted her skin. "You protected your face when he hi...did what he did."

She pulled away from his grip and rolled over onto her side. Every night after she met up with Dante and angered him she curled up in the same position. She supposed if she laid like that, he wouldn't be able to see her. Sometimes she believed if she curled up into a ball she'd become invisible. Maybe it was silly, but it made her feel better; it made her feel safe. _Almost._

"You can say he hit me," she said, eyes closed. "It's what he did. No need to beat around the bush."

"If you ever wanted to talk about it...I _am _a doctor," Trent said, his face serious.

She nodded her head and pushed herself back into a sitting position, eyes locked on the needle settled on a table. Her fingers rubbed the area of skin on her arm where he would prick her, and tugged her sleeve up over her shoulder. Trent took this as a sign of acceptance on her end and proceeded to clean the area.

Her eyes never left his face. Not even when she heard the sound of him fumble with the needle. And once pain radiated from the area, her hand jolted forward and clutched onto his wrist. A moment of silence passed. Trent's eyes locked on hers, hers locked on his. A breath slipped from his mouth, and the needle dropped to the floor below him. Claire's hand pulled away and, ignoring the pain in her arm, she cradled it in her hand as if it had burned.

"There," he said, red filling his pale cheeks, a smile on his lips "that wasn't so bad, right?"

"You should smile more."

It was a simple statement. But it made the good doctor swallow; his throat bobbed slowly, as if he struggled to grasp for control. In the hands of a nineteen year old, oddly enough. Claire dabbled on dangerous grounds. She knew it, and yet persisted to push the man to his limits with each and every encounter. Baffled by her words, Trent gathered the needle from the floor and tossed it into a bin. He returned with a band-aid. Still distracted, he failed to notice the sharp exhale forced from her lungs when he pushed too hard on the fresh wound.

"I better get going. Have to pack for the weekend camping trip," Claire said, hopping down from the table. At her normal height she had to look up at Trent to meet his gaze. "I'll see you later, Trent."

Without listening to hear his response, the blonde pulled her suspenders back on and slipped out of the room, a stream of golden hair behind her. It would take Trent much more than the rest of an afternoon to forget the way she turned her head around and smiled with her bright eyes like she did, despite the horror of a broken past he couldn't even grasp the beginnings of. Elli appeared by the doorway what seemed to be eons later, a concerned look on her face, head tilted to the side.

"Trent...everything okay?"

"I don't know."

-.-.-

When Claire returned to her farm, she found her brother hunched over his hoe, gasping for air. Startled, she ran over and rubbed circles along his back. As of late, she'd noticed how often he found himself out of breath while working, and sometimes even doing simpler of chores. She passed it off as nothing serious – as if it were due to the heat. But with the temperature starting to cool, she couldn't help the twinge of worry burn in the pit of her stomach.

"I'm...okay." He struggled for a few moments more and lifted himself back into a standing position. "Must be something in the air. My allergies seem to be bothering me lately."

"How long has this been happening?"

"For the better part of two years...give or take a few months." He shrugged and said, "It's probably just the different atmosphere from here and home, you know?"

She nodded her head, hopeful that his words proved true. "Do you want me to cook dinner while you finish up?"

"Actually, Raquel and Kai are in the kitchen putting something together for us. Kai was a bit _too _keen on spending more time with you. I swear, that man is a pervert. All he wants is a summer lay...and he has women all over the world, I bet. I heard a rumor about a girl named Jill in Forget-Me-Not the other day from Rick! Apparently, Kai not only knocked her up, but he tried to pass it off like the kid wasn't his!" Jack shook his head. "I don't want him touching you...or anyone for that matter. Promise me you won't fall for any of these guys. I just don't want to see you hurt. Most of these men have known the women here all their life and chances are the Goddess will put them together as we all expect."

Claire shuffled her foot uncomfortably. "I-"

"Who is it? It's Kai, isn't it!"

"Not by a long shot, silly brother of mine." She thwacked the back of his skull. A moment later her face changed, lips tugged into a firm line. "Do you ever think about all the time that Raquel and Kai spend together? Doesn't it make you feel uncomfortable?"

"No...not really. She's faithful and engaged to me – not him. I guess at first it made me uncomfortable, though."

Claire glanced through the window at the two, laughing together over something from within the kitchen. "Do you ever wonder if Kai feels anything for her beyond friendship?"

"At first I did, but not so much now. What are you getting at here?" Jack tilted his head to the side, eyes narrowed into slits.

"I'm just wondering..."

_It's not like he looks at her as if she's his whole world. It's not like I couldn't see his heart rip in two when you proposed to her. It's not like I don't know how he feels. It's not like he knows...it's not like he knows. _

Jack shrugged off her words and headed towards the door, hoe in hand. Claire remained outside, envisioning a forest flooded with flowers. Bright, colorful, and beautiful flowers. Trees dotted the land, their dappled light filtering through blowing leaves. A shadow sat with his legs knee deep in water. Dark hair, broadened shoulders, and a jawline she knew little of, but admired from afar. He turned his head, his dark eyes concentrated on hers. A smile morphed his lips, but the world shifted and turned it into a dark snicker. His eyes shifted and his face contorted, and soon Dante sat before her. Clouds rolled in over the sky and the light drained from the surrounding area. His lips formed two words. Two fatal words which hit her with the same force she felt when the car swerved and slammed into its destruction.

"_You bitch."_

-.-.-

Claire remembered when her and Jack were children. When life was easier and she wasn't a sad little teenager, worried about the struggles of another day. Back when they would climb up the ladder to a tree house their parents crafted for them and slipped away to their own fantasy land. It was there they spoke in hushed whispers, their tongues moving to form the words of an imagined language, speaking of treaties with ogres and fairies alike. It was there they slipped away from the world for hours at a time and dreamed of something much bigger than them. They could be warriors, archers, mages – anything. In their world they took control and held the reigns to the future. In this reality, however, life happened upon them and tossed obstacles in their way, ignorant to their feelings on the matter.

Now she sat, a fork in hand, across from Kai and Raquel. Something in the way they spoke to each other, regardless of her brother's assurance, warned of _more. _Deeper than friendship, and yet not. Despite Raquel's professions of love toward Jack, Claire held her own doubts. How couldn't she? The two lived together and spent most of their days together. When they left Mineral Town, who knew what they did. It bothered her to wonder whether or not Raquel's intentions with her brother's were sincere. She prayed to the Goddess that they were. That Jack was the one and only man in her life.

Raquel giggled at something Jack said and grasped his hand from across the table. She mouthed a quick _I love you _to him and pulled her hand away. His mouth rounded the words in return. The thoughts of Raquel's true feelings passed through her mind again.

_She loves him. Stop worrying. It's not your place to worry. They're going to get married; why would she say yes if she didn't intend on marrying him? _

Jack had said Kai got a girl in the next town over pregnant. And she imagined Jill was not the only woman in his life before coming back to Mineral Town for the summer. What made her think that Raquel, another traveling caterer, didn't do the same? What made her think there wasn't more to the story?

Better yet...what made her think of this at all?

Doubt was a sickening feeling. A feeling she knew would drive her mad.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Five:**

In a normal world, farmers enjoyed their animals. They brought them their profits, so in turn they appreciated them and cared for them to the best of their abilities. When her brother asked her to tend to them and feed them, however, Claire squealed at the first cluck from one of the hens and raced out of the coop without closing the doors behind her. Currently, both she and Jack raced across the fields, trying to catch the loose chickens. Or rather, Claire provided emotional support from behind one of Jack's prize winning cows.

Once that was squared away, he explained that he had a few things to do before him and the others headed towards the camp site. Something or another about packing up some of Raquel's things, just so when her ferry arrived a few days later, they would be prepared, and the move seamless. Which left Claire seated on the couch, flipping through channels, and searching for anything that caught her eye. With her new life in Mineral Town, she'd forgotten to watch her soaps on more than one occasion, and when she stumbled upon General Hospital, turned the television off simply because she had no idea what was happening to her favorite characters anymore.

Curious, she ventured back outside and wandered over to Jack's horse, Kain. The large animal sniffed her hair and exhaled deeply, his warm nose on her throat. She ran a hand down his face, gripped the reigns, and hoisted herself onto his back. Back home she'd ridden a few horses. Nothing extreme, but enough to know the basic riding commands. Her feet dug into the horses sides and they were off in the direction of the town, soon enough racing towards where Popuri and Rick resided. The two waved to Claire before she passed, and the blonde paused in front of their gate, a broad smile across her lips.

"I've escaped from Kai's secret underground chamber," Claire said, trying her hardest to hide the giggles bubbling in her throat.

"I thought Rick was joking about that!" Popuri cupped her hand over her mouth and gasped into it. "Oh dear! Claire, I am so glad you escaped from his evil clutches!"

Rick and Claire looked between one another and the pink haired female. As beautiful as she was, she lacked in the brains department. Neither of them decided to allow her to know that Kai's underground chamber was, in fact, nothing more than something she created in her mind on a whim. But it amused them both to watch the horror lined look on her face. It would also keep the young woman from getting her feelings hurt by a man who's intent lingered on a woman who was engaged to be married. And to her own brother of all people.

Claire knew much of Popuri's uncanny affection toward the swarthy traveler. Claire could understand, what with his tall stature, tanned skin and dark eyes. On top of that, he sported taut muscles which defined his body all over. They were the signs of a well worked man, and she would be lying if she told herself the man wasn't handsome. Still, the kind young woman deserved someone better than the likes of Kai, and failed to realize it.

"What are you up to, Claire?" Rick placed the chicken in its pen and moved over to the fence. He leaned against it and patted the horse on the neck.

"Just taking a ride around town. Figured I might as well look the part of a farmer if I can't actually fit the role of it."

"You're going to Mary's later, right? The girls are going to be there to do each others hair before the trip!" Popuri clapped her hands together excitedly.

Claire tipped her head to the side. "Why do our hair for it to get messed up again...you know what, I'm not going to ask. I'll be there."

"I saw you leave the doctor's Wednesday. He closes his practice on Wednesday..." Rick winked at the farmer. Claire wanted to slap the look from his face. "He looked a little flushed when he walked out after. And when I asked if he was okay, he said he needed fresh air."

"Maybe the doctor is sick?" Popuri suggested, a hopeful grin on her face.

"No...I don't think that was it. I think it had something to do with our friend Claire here-"

"Well, today is a lovely day, isn't it. I better get going! I have a few more errands to get done before I can go to Mary's. It was great talking to you two!"

Before Rick could utter another word she was off, racing toward the beach. In what world had she gotten herself into. As if her own embarrassment over their last encounter was enough, now Rick developed an interest in the meeting, and probed at it without realizing the severity of the situation. Trent was – well, too _old _for her. At best, she figured him twenty six. At worst, she imagined him to be in his early thirties. Regardless, the ground beneath her wobbled with every step in his direction. She walked on thin glass, where even the slightest misstep would send her beneath the surface and into the icy depths below. In the end, it would only hurt her.

* * *

The thing about packing for a trip Claire failed to realize was just that – she was packing for a trip. A weekend getaway. She didn't need a weeks worth of clothes, only two days. Still, she found herself packing various shirts and shorts of all colors, insisting to her brother she needed them all for _insurance. What if there are bears?_ she had asked, and packed yet another outfit in her duffel bag. _They might eat my stuff while we sleep._ Jack eyeballed her the whole time, laughing off her excuses as silly. _There are no bears; even if there are, they won't go near a group as big as ours._

Jack liked to tease Claire by insisting she grew up with the world at the tips of her fingers. Anything and everything she could have ever wanted was handed to her from birth. A new toy as soon as Mommy and Daddy finished up their work for the day. A new doll whenever she pouted her lips up at them. It only progressed as she got older. Her friends struggled with hours of work on top of their studies to afford a sub standard car. Claire received her first car on a whim at fifteen; a car she didn't drive until she turned 18, because her brother shipped her around wherever he went.

She proved his theory by casting aside outfits she knew were out of season. He suggested to hand them off to some of the other women in town, to which Claire shook her head and assured him they wouldn't want _old rags. _Sometimes it was hard to forget her old roots, she realized; but they were ingrained into her core, and it was the only thing she knew. When something was old or broken you replaced it. Instant gratification was always met.

Her new pairs of overalls, though drab, were customized to her own liking. Through a few years of elective sewing classes, she'd mustered up enough skill to alter her clothing to fit her own personal style. She donned a checkered black and red flannel, and instead of buttoning them, tied them into a knot under her bust. Though a chill developed in the air, her overalls were styled into shorts, and ripped in some places to add a bit of flair. When she stepped out of her room dressed and ready to go with a duffel bag in hand, Jack shoved her back into her room and tossed a towel over her.

"Cover up, woman! Geesh," he said, rummaging through her dresser and tossing another, more modest outfit at her. "Are you trying to give me a heart attack. No guy in their right minds wants to see his little sister dressed like _that._"

She placed her hands on her hips. "Like what exactly?" Her eyes narrowed playfully. "Chose your words carefully Jack, for they may be your last."

Jack snorted and lifted his sister into the air, then tossed her onto the bed. A squeal tore through her throat, but she counteracted with a pillow, and thwacked it across his face. Soon enough an all out war broke out between the two. White flashed back and fourth across the room, sounds of fabric upon fabric echoing against the walls, along with peals of giggles. Both suffered from angered sides, made sore from laughing. The blonde curled over onto her side and pressed her ear against her brothers chest.

Many times before as a child they laid like this at night when thunder storms rattled the walls of their home. On those nights she slipped out of her bed and underneath his covers. He rocked her as she cried and covered her free ear with his hand, so the world was muffled out. The only sound she could hear was his heartbeat – strong and powerful, a true testament to his nature. Even now, both of them adults, she felt secured within the cage of his arms.

"You'll never leave me, right?" she asked, hopeful.

"Even if the world is falling apart around us."

Only time would tell how true his words proved to be.

* * *

"So I tell him...you marry me, or I marry this beautiful wine bottle," Karen said, her every word slurring as the girls made their way towards the campsite. "And _believe me, _it would not be a loss for me to marry-" A hiccup. "...this wine bottle of mine."

Popuri tapped Mary and Claire against the shoulder. "Isn't that against the law?"

"Maybe not against the law, but it's...unnatural, of coarse," Mary said. "She's intoxicated...she's not thinking right."

"_And _to top it all off, I tell him, 'My Daddy said he will pay for the whole wedding if it means s-seeing his daughter married.'" Karen leaned up against Elli, a haze over her eyes. "You know what he says? He says he doesn't want my d-dad to pay for it; he wants to pay for it when he's ready! What a load of bull-"

"If I remember correctly, I went to your father the other day for flour since we ran out at the inn. And I didn't pay for them. How would he pay for the whole wedding, Karen?" Ann asked from behind Claire, tugging her dress that the girls forced her into down further. She grimaced at the group.

"You guys all s-sound like R-rick." Another hiccup. "You know what? I will marry this wine bottle instead."

Ann rolled her eyes. "Oh boy."

Claire felt uncomfortable walking beside the girls as she was. It wasn't like they really knew her. A few conversations here and there, and suddenly they accepted her with open arms, as if they were all the nearest and dearest of friends. Back home Claire didn't worry about making friends. She had been on the cheerleading squad, which ensured easy popularity. On top of that, everyone knew she had money. Oftentimes she spent money _on _her friends when they hung out and made their frequent trips to the mall. She noticed those friends more often than not wanted to hang out with her.

A fire roared in the distance. Orange embers danced along the forest floor, disappearing before they ignited. The boys were bent low near one another, palms outstretched, finger tips glowing in the light. Jack was telling a story of a man who wandered too far from his cabin in the woods one day, only to find himself face to face with a man who carried a butchers knife. Their eyes basked in the light, excitement as hot as the fire below. Like a song the story climaxed before reaching its ending. All the while they jumped when Kai appeared, brandishing a butchers knife like the one in the story.

Karen wandered over to Rick's side and settled herself, although clumsily, on his lap. The other women made their way over to their prospective partner, until Claire realized she sat by herself, distanced from the coupled group. Raquel had Jack, Rick had Karen, a dreamy Popuri stared longingly at Kai, Mary giggled from within Gray's arms, Ann and Cliff exchanged bashful looks and – to her displeasure – Elli clasped her fingers around Trent's hand. Very suddenly her idea to take part in the trip made her stomach turn.

Her eyes wandered back to their clasped fingers. Something hot burned her esophagus. She felt her heart thrum from within the pit of her belly. A vice clamped around her lungs. Her head swam, the world blurred, colors melded together in a pot. The fire's glow burned her eyes, and the world shifted into another scene.

Dante's face appeared before her, illuminated by the light of the oncoming truck. He shouted at her until her ears rang and pleaded for release. She was vaguely aware of his fist colliding with her jaw; the pain of his words always hurt more than any wound. _You bitch_. _You lying bitch. I bet you screwed them both – wouldn't surprise me!_ A horn blared – warned them in a last plea to move out of the way.

Tires squealed. The smell of charred rubber filled her nostrils. Her blood spattered across her face, her arms. She couldn't feel the wound it bled from. She couldn't feel anything but the dull throb of her heart. Slowing, slowing, slowing...then black. Everywhere. It surrounded her; it swallowed her whole and refused to spit her out. Beside her Dante coughed up blood, shifted, cried...then stilled.

Eyes closed, Claire lifted herself away from the fire into a standing position and wandered in the direction of the Goddess Pond. No one followed her. She doubted they noticed her leave at all. The pond looked like it had in a daydream she had a few days prior. Her finger curled around a flower and tossed it into the pond's water. Civilians of Mineral Town swore the Goddess listened to those who called upon her. But Claire had never been a spiritual being, and it felt odd coming to her now of all times when previously the thought of prayer never crossed her mind.

"_I want to forget. I want a new start. I want to forget about him. Dante never happened."_ She repeated the statement over and over until she believed it. Footsteps sounded behind her, crunching on leaves. The girl inhaled – _in an out, in and out_ – to calm her frantic heart. She continued until her fear faded away and allowed her to turn on the heel and face her stalker.

"Trent..."

He stepped closer to her until the distance between them disappeared. "You looked scared. I wanted to make sure you were okay. You shouldn't have left by yourself. You haven't been here for more than a month yet; you don't know the town like we do."

"I needed air."

"That didn't look like someone who needed air-"

"But I did. That's all."

"You saw the accident, didn't you?" His words sounded more like a statement than a question. It bothered her. "It happens to patients all the time after an accident like yours. The mind blocks off what it doesn't want to see – what it doesn't want to feel. Then, the smallest of stimulus triggers it, and you remember. It's right back in the forefront of your mind."

"It's nothing. I just didn't want to be surrounded by _couples._" She stuck her tongue out and asked, "Shouldn't you be getting back to your lovely nurse?"

"You thought – Elli and I – Me and Elli – we're not – I don't – it's nothing like that at all. She's my coworker and my nurse." Trent swiped his fingers through his hair, discomforted by her accusation and declaration of their nonexistent relationship. "I feel nothing for her other than friendship."

Claire guffawed. "Well, Doctor, for a man as smart as you...you must not have any knowledge when it comes to a woman's heart. She likes you – maybe even _loves _you."

"I know she does."

"Yet you don't act on it." Her eyes narrowed, confused. "Why?"

"There is nothing more that I feel toward her other than friendship."

Arms folded across her chest, Claire nodded, satisfied with his responses. They answered more than a few of the questions she felt burning in the back of her mind. Not that it mattered. He was a professional – he had a direction in life. She was no more than a broken soul, wandering around searching for her purpose in life, and a young one at that. Still, it didn't stop the excited thrill of her heart. And it didn't stop the urge to run her fingers through his coal colored hair.

After her accident she promised to not allow her heart to get the better of her – to never trust another man. Yet here she stood, a line between the two. What used to be a canyon looked like no more than a crack now. Her toes threatened to touch the broken surface and cross over. Her hands threatened to reach out and touch him. Her heart betrayed her judgment. _We only just met, _she thought, but that, in her mind, was no reason to doubt that there was something between the two of them. A simple attraction, maybe. Or a silly crush. Her eyes met his again. Those terrible eyes, laced with good intentions, but bad influence over the blonde.

She had made a promise to her brother.

But promises were meant to be broken. _Weren't they? _

* * *

_A/N: Not a lot happened in this chapter. But the next chapter is going to get the ball rolling for these characters here._

_I am also thinking of writing a Harvest Moon/Hunger Games hybrid story. Kind of want to try my flair at that. Not sure how many people would read that, but it would either feature the group from Forget-Me-Not, or those from the Sunshine Islands. Decisions, decisions. _

_Anyway, back to this story! Thank you for the reviews. Seriously. I don't pretend to be a good writer; I'm only trying to get better. The fact that you guys have been so kind makes me feel great! :3 And I hope what happens in the next chapter, and the next few chapters, generates a response I'm looking for. All the relationships are only going to get more complicated from here on out. ;)_


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Six:**

Claire thought of the time Jack's mangy dog he found one day brought a dead cat to their home and placed it on the doorstep. The thing never did anything worthwhile. When he wasn't sleeping, he ate, and when he wasn't doing either, he wandered around and somehow managed to find anything dead within a few miles of their home.

Day in and day out Claire asked her mother if they could give the dog away – put it back onto the streets. As much as their mother wanted a better, purebred dog which would make her wallet lighter, she loved her son. And if he wanted the dog, she allowed him to keep it.

One night, Dante slipped in through the window and tugged at Claire's shorts until she squirmed beneath him. His hand clapped over her mouth while she screamed and struggled. The skin on her inner thighs turned purple under his grasp, her knuckles whitened from gripping the bed so hard. He smelled of liquor like he always did during his nighttime visits. On nights like these there was no reasoning with him, and when she did try he assured her he did it out of love. Black, blues and yellows became declarations of love.

But on this night, she wouldn't have it. And neither would Jack's mangy dog.

He leaped onto Dante and bit down. Hard. Dante cried out and whipped his arms in front of him. One of his hands punished Claire's cheek, while the other hit one of her forearms. He cursed at them both and climbed back out the window, nearly falling onto the ground below. After that night, Claire slept with Jack's dog in her room. Dante never returned on one of his drunken escapades.

But then the dog appeared on the doorstep again. Instead of carrying something he captured in his jaws, he lay dead at her feet. Through Jack and Claire's tears, the vet they brought him to explained someone had fed him chocolate. Enough to kill a dog of his size. Claire never knew who killed her dog, but now, laying within the confines of her tent and unable to sleep, she had an idea.

Head swimming in realization, she clambered out of her tent and found herself staring at the shadowy figure of the good doctor. He stood, eyes locked on the trail leading to Mother's Hill, mouth tugged into a straight line. She wanted to call out to him – ask him why he, too, couldn't sleep. But her mouth ran dry and he walked away, shadows shrouding him away from the eye. Curious, she padded after him, keeping quiet with each step. Any rustle of leaves here, or the snap of a twig there and her position would be revealed to him.

However, when she turned around the bend, Trent was no where to be found. Shrugging, she pushed onward, sights set on the mouth of the hill. In the distance she saw two shadowed figures, blanketed in the night. She couldn't determine where one body began and the other ended, and her face burned at the stark reality of the moment she walked in on. It was private. Two people together in the rawest form – in a way only a man and wife should partake in.

Then it hit her, like a slap to the face, but worse. _So _much worse, because it meant she'd guessed right. Because it meant her brother had been betrayed – that Raquel wasn't as faithful as he first imagined.

Tears brimmed in her eyes. Her heart ached for him, ripped right down the middle. He'd put his heart and soul into their short lived relationship, and he didn't even know what she did in the dead of night when his eyes closed. With his back turned to her, she slipped the dagger in between his ribs, tipped with her betrayal. He didn't even know – Goddess, he didn't even know. Claire opened her mouth to say something – anything, but her words were cut off by a hand cupped over her mouth.

She shrieked. She kicked. She thrashed about in her attackers arms. _Dante_, her mind screamed at her, _he's found you. Dante found you; you can run, but you can never hide._ Trent folded her against his chest, palm over her mouth, and held a finger to his lips. Her nerves settled and vision focused back on the scene before them. She turned her head away in disgust, buried it in Trent's shoulder. She had known all along. Whatever _friendship _Kai and Raquel said they had turned out to be yet another lie on top of the many others they spilled to weave their intricate tale.

"I don't want to see anymore," Claire whispered from within his shoulder. "She's just as fake as those extensions she wears in her hair."

They slipped away unseen and followed the path which led back to the Goddess Pond. It was there Claire mulled over her options in her mind: Tell Jack and break his heart, or allow him to marry into an unfaithful bond. Either option left him brokenhearted, and she didn't wish that upon anyone.

Forgetting her own trials and problems for a moment, she knew that she needed to tell him. It was the most realistic of the two. She would rather break his heart now than to watch him fall apart on the inside when Raquel – his world – proved who she _really _was.

"I was right – Goddess, I knew it from the moment I saw the way he looked at her when Jack proposed." Her hands clapped over her eyes.

"You knew his motives, but we don't know hers..."

Claire snapped. "Does it matter? I have two options now! And neither one of them is going to make my brother happy."

"Now, think logically...is this really your place to say anything?"

"_Yes_ – w-well, I don't know." She lifted her face from her hands. "I have to tell him -"

"I don't think you should intervene," he said, looking her in the eye.

"Then _what_ do you suppose I do? Wait for the day he finds out his fiance – maybe even wife at that point – has been sleeping around with Kai?" Claire shook her head. "I can't. I won't. I have to tell him."

"What makes you think he will even believe you if you tell him this?"

She glowered at him. "I'm his _sister_. Why wouldn't he believe me?"

It was Trent's turn to shake his head. "I know he would believe you," he said. A pause passed in the air. "But he is in love with Raquel. She might try to defend herself by saying you're lying."

"You're saying he would believe her story over my own?" She laughed, disbelieving. Without missing a beat she added, "You don't know my brother then."

With that she concluded their conversation and walked off toward the campsite, blonde hair bobbing along behind her. Instead of returning to her own tent she settled within the cage of her brother's arms, covering his mouth when he stirred so as to not startle him. Sighing, he pressed his head against the side of her head and slipped back into an undisturbed slumber.

Claire didn't sleep. She spent the remainder of the night and into the early morning staring up at the canvas of their tent. She walked in on something private between two people, their mouths rounded in the throes of their pleasure, tangled together like the lies they spouted to those around them. She walked in on the answers to her justified doubt.

But it worried her that Trent might be right. Should she try to warn her brother of Raquel's infidelity, the woman would turn around and defend herself – and rightly so. No one wanted to find themselves caught in a lie. And yet, if she kept what she knew a secret, later down the line she knew it would only hurt her brother more. She shifted in his arms and stared at his contented face. _Tomorrow, _she decided, _I tell him. Even if it breaks his heart._

-.-.-

"You know, I don't understand why Kai doesn't like me. We've known each other for years and I've given him all the right signs..." Popuri huffed, head shaking. "Is there something wrong with me?"

Claire giggled. Although a thought in the back of her mind on the intelligence of her friend sprouted to life, she kept it at back and instead placed a hand against the pink-haired beauty's shoulder. It saddened the blonde to know here Popuri sat, her lips tugged into a frown, unaware of how much _more _she deserved. She needed someone in her life who would love her in a way she deserved to be loved. Gently, to prevent her heart from breaking – and forever, proving it with each and every day.

Every woman deserved that someone. They deserved to have their lives filled by a man who tried to fulfill their every need every day. And not because they had to, but because they wanted to...because they had something to prove to themselves as well – because they wanted to be the best they could be for that other person. Love was like that. You gave part of yourself and received part of another in its place. It was a give and take; an unspoken agreement to love and be loved by each other.

Raquel, Claire thought, was supposed to be that someone for her brother. But behind those hair extensions and that bubbly personality hid a liar and a cheat. She had taken a part of Jack's heart, but gave half of her own to _Kai. _Claire feared he would never receive that part of himself back, the part of him he surrendered to her as a sign of vulnerability, and it would ruin him.

She knew Popuri dealt the same hand; she gave herself to Kai, but he never acknowledged her in the way she anticipated. A flirtatious meet here and there, but without the commitment.

"There is nothing wrong with you...he seems distracted," Claire said, wishing to add _by Raquel_ at the end.

Nothing good would come of exposing him out in the open. Especially when he and Raquel could both defend themselves and, given the length of time they had been around versus herself, she knew they had a better backing behind them. She decided she would tell her brother first, then only time would tell before she decided to tell anyone else.

"Don't look, but Trent is staring over here," Karen said, flouncing off toward Rick as quick as she came.

Popuri and Claire's heads whipped around in the direction Karen said, then turned back toward one another. A blush filled Claire's cheeks, and Popuri giggled. It was odd. Popuri, being the closest in age to Claire, and a complete opposite of the blonde, got along best with her out of the whole group. Claire knew, even in the small time frame she knew her, that they were to be good friends yet. Popuri tugged on Claire's shoulders excitedly and wiggled the blonde around.

"Looks like the good doctor does have emotions after all-"

Claire shook her head. "Oh please. He is a _lot _older than me and treats me like a child half the time." Her thoughts drifted to the night before when he diffused any plans of her speaking to her brother and getting a point across, not that it changed her mind about her agenda. "He _is _handsome, though. Very much so. Not like the guys back home."

"But you like him?" The pink haired beauty dragged on the "m" longer than needed, a smirk on her lips.

Trent's gaze burned the back of her skull, dark and filled with emotions she couldn't put a name to. She thought to last night, curled against his chest, surrounded by his warmth. He had scolded her like a child, urged her to keep her mouth shut about what she had seen.

As much as the voice in the back of her mind screamed for her to stay away, something urged her to step closer. To touch his skin—to run her fingers through his hair. It was forbidden ground, but the scandal of it excited her.

She tucked her lip between her teeth. "Yes."

"But you won't tell him?"

"No..."

"Why not?"

"He doesn't need to get involved with a person like me."

With that response, Claire climbed to her feet and headed toward her brother. He sat beside Raquel, laughing at something she had said. Kai sat in front of them, grinning along. What she would give to say something to them all in that moment. Instead she jostled her brother's shoulder and asked to have a moment with him. _Alone. _

Jack waved his goodbyes and grasped his sister's hand, marching off in the direction she led him.

Claire felt a burning against her back as she walked. When she glanced over her shoulder, Trent shook his head at her.

-.-.-

By the time they reached somewhere private Claire's throat started to swell and twist at the thought of telling him her discovery. She didn't even know where to start. Her fingers curled around his palm and brought it in between them. He raised a brow at her, his eyebrows knitted higher up on his forehead.

"What's going on?" he asked, and she could sense the uneasiness rising in his tone. "You're freaking me out. Tell me you're seeing Kai and I will ship you back home faster than you can blink!"

Claire shook her head. "I wish that were the case," she said, inhaling a deep breath. When she exhaled, she spoke, "Jack, Raquel is not being honest with you. I know you love her and you always think about her with the best outlook in mind but you have to believe me when I say I saw her and Kai...together." A pause. "They were having sex. I'm so sorry."

Jack stared at her for a moment before bursting out into laughter. Claire brushed the tears from her eyes and looked up at him, her lips tugged into a frown. He was caught off guard to the point of laughter. She knew he would react this way. Sighing, she stepped toward him and wrapped her arms around his waist, locking him in place with her embrace. She would be there for him while he mourned over his fiances infidelity.

However, Jack didn't hug her back. Instead, he shoved her off of him. "You're a liar. She would never. What's wrong with you, Claire? Has Dante screwed with your head so much that you have no faith in anyone anymore? Just because he treated you wrongly doesn't mean _everyone _is the same."

She shook her head. "W-what? J-Jack...I saw them right here with my own eyes! I promise!"

"I can't believe you would do this to me." His voice was no more than a hiss. "Do you still hate me so much that you would punish me by saying these things? Did my apology mean nothing to you? I'm sorry I wasn't there for you, but leave Raquel out of this. She did _nothing _to you."

"Ja-"

"Get away from me. I don't even want to look at you right now!"

"...Jack?-"

"_Get away from me!_"

"Please." She whimpered.

"I want nothing to do with you."

The brunette walked away in the opposite direction, leaving his little sister struggling to stand in his wake. Her knees buckled beneath her and sent her down to the ground. She couldn't think straight. Jack had rejected everything she'd said—everything. He didn't believe her, and yet she had seen them in front of her own eyes. Blinded by love, he denied his own flesh and blood. It hurt. Claire brought her hands up to her eyes and covered her face.

It was then she allowed herself to cry.

Something warm jostled her shoulder. Claire opened her eyes and threw an arm over her face when the sun blinded her. To her right sat Trent, a concerned look on his serious features. She looked up at him through her lashes, her lip trembling. Without needing for her to explain, he helped her to a sitting position and stiffened at the feel of the blonde's head pressed against his chest. Uncertain fingers curled in her golden locks, smoothed the hairs down and rubbed a pattern unknown on the back of her neck as she cried into his chest.

"You were right."

Trent said nothing.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: **_After having my laptop die, saving up the money for a new one, and buying a new one...I lost all my documents. With it, I lost the next chapter for Wasteland. The chapter I had written was a sequence of dreams that I thought were vital to the characters themselves, but then this happened. It might seem sudden, but that's what I'm aiming at to get my plot rolling. If I didn't speed this up, we'd be stuck in the Trent/Claire romance building forever. Plus, it's in my "Claire's" personality. XD I don't plan on this particular story being so long...I need things to happen to place the foundations for the sequel. Yes, sequel. The sequel, however, is going to be the longer story. It will also focus on the characters and character building. And then, if you guys are interested, I may post a dystopian Harvest Moon story. Eh, eh? Haha. Anyway, enjoy..._

* * *

Trent dreamed about her some nights. Her blonde hair, her wild eyes, her bright smile that hid the horrors of another day. Some nights he dreamed of the curve of her neck against his mouth, the pressure of her lips against his own, the dip in her lower back. Those nights he woke up gasping for air, petrified that he had dreamed of her in such a manner. Other nights he wished he was having a nightmare; those were the nights he heard her tossing and turning in the spare room beside his, crying out and screaming out the name _Dante _as if the hell hounds were racing behind her, their pearlescent teeth glinting in the dark. Nights like that were the ones he wished he had a spine in that back of his-one that would grant him the nerve to slip into bed beside her and wrap her close in the cage of her arms.

And yet he couldn't for too many reasons to count. For one, he respected Jack, even after what he had done to break the girl down into pieces. The farmer had become one of his friends, and that meant seeing his little sister on more than a doctor patient level was prohibited. He had seen parts of Claire he wasn't sure even Jack had seen, and that fact alone unnerved him. Age was another matter all together to take into consideration. Even with her birthday coming up, the girl was only turning twenty. At nearly thirty, their relationship might be seen as scandalous and he didn't wish to put the ideas for stories into some of the more talkative ladies in town.

Still, he would give anything to reach out to her and claim her lips with his. To feel her knees shake beneath his grasp, breath hitch, heart thrum erratically in her chest. These feelings were wrong, he knew it. He couldn't stop them, however, even if he tried. Even now, sitting behind his desk with a stack of paperwork textbook thick, he could only focus on the sound of Claire and Elli's laughter filling the room next door. She sounded happy-for once. For the past few weeks she'd been spending her days and nights at the Clinic. Jack needed time away from her to clear his mind, and Trent offered to take her into his spare room, unaware of the "good doctor's" hidden feelings for the younger sibling.

In that time span he'd only heard her laugh a handful of times, and had seen her smile even less.

"Trent?" Claire called, poking her head into his office. He glanced up at her and smiled. "Elli and I were just talking...remember that massage you promised me? I could _really _use it; maybe later, after you're done working?"

Trent tensed, but the feeling came from further south. "U-uh...I don't see why I couldn't."

With that the giggling blonde disappeared again and must have said something to the kind nurse, because he swore he heard something along the lines of, "_Okay, here's the twenty G I promised you. Silly girl!_" The man's cheeks burned hotter than they had in years, and felt like they would sear off completely when Elli walked in and giggled suggestively-something he had never heard her do before.

"She's young, Trent, but she's got this fire in her-"

"I know."

"You _like _her," she said. There was no questioning in her tone. To her, this was fact; and it was, there was no denying it.

"Yes," he said, glancing down at Claire's picture, clipped to her personal file on his desk, "I do."

When he walked into her room later that night she was curled up on his rocking chair wearing a tan camisole and purple pajama pants with polar bears wearing scarves on them. She looked so innocent, and yet looked different than she had when she first arrived in town. A week back he had found her in the bathroom, crying and unable to deal with her current self any longer. She asked one of the girls in town to cut her hair to her shoulders. The shorter look, Claire had told him, was only the beginning of her new start. She wanted to be a different person. Wanted to get over that past she kept so guarded and close to her heart.

He walked up behind her and pressed his hand to her shoulder. She didn't look at him, and instead kept her eyes trained on the stars outside. Her fingers instead reached up and curled around his, giving them a squeeze. He moved them just enough that their hands laced together, a comfortable gesture they had grown particular of as of recently. These little touches, however slight, gave him hope that there was something _there _in her heart, too-that these outrageous feelings weighed on her mind as well.

"You know, when Dante and I got into the accident, he didn't believe me either?" she said, more so to herself than him. "Kind of like with Jack. Dante thought I was cheating on him with his friends-I wasn't, but that was beside the point-even when I told him I hadn't...that Kai had been giving me a ride home. What's the point in telling people you love the truth, just so they can deny it?"

Trent swallowed and opened his mouth to speak, but Claire began again. "I know it's crazy...but I'm having these undeniable feelings toward someone here in Mineral Town. I haven't been here for long, I know that, but I can't deny it."

He moved Claire toward the bed and sat her down in front of him, moving her hair out of the way. His fingers began to work against her taut skin, stressed over her bones from nights of fitful sleep. That tension burned lower again when she released a contented sigh, her head rolling back against his chest. The girl turned in his arms and stared up at him, pushed his dark hair from his eyes. A wicked grin appeared on her lips.

"I bet Elli 20G that you would give me a massage if I asked you to," Claire said, poking him with her index finger. "Easy profit."

"What made you so sure I would say yes?"

And suddenly she was pulled against his chest, her lips against his. She wrapped her hand around the back of his neck and cradled his head in her palm. He groaned against her lips and kissed her harder-_deeper_. His tongue probed hers apart and slipped behind the secrets her teeth kept hidden away, tasting and feeling every inch, nook and cranny of her mouth. She breathed into him a sigh-a secret of her unspoken feelings for him, and he locked them away in the safest part of his heart for her. When they pulled apart it was only for a moment, both of them gasping.

"I had a strong hunch," Claire said, her words coming out between puffs, "Trent, there's something else I wanted to say...about that person-"

He said, "I _believe _you."

* * *

"Is she okay? She's not hurt or sick or anything?" Jack asked, running his fingers through his horse's mane.

"She's perfectly fine, Jack. I don't know why you don't come by and ask her yourself..."

"She's delusional! Did you hear what she said about Raquel?" Jack shook his head. "I swear, Dante ruined her mind for life. I wish I could grab that little punk by the shirt and give him a lesson on how to treat a young woman. Now she's spewing stuff about Raquel being with Kai...it's insane."

Trent cleared his throat. "She misses you."

"She can miss me all she wants-you don't do that to your flesh and blood." Jack paused, inhaling sharply before falling into a coughing fit. Trent immediately stepped forward to assist him, but Jack extended his arm in what Trent took as "no." "Plus, I don't think this is working out; her living here, I mean. I'm thinking about sending her back home to live with our parents."

_His teeth grasped her bottom lip in his. Her breath hitched. He felt her trembling under his touch. Trembling, wanting...yearning-_Trent shook his head free of thoughts from the night prior from his mind and spluttered at what Jack said. He planned on sending her home. Part of him, the part that was falling for her quickly, wanted to shout out at him...tell him that this was wrong. The other part, the rational part, knew speaking up on her behalf would only spell out disaster for him; not only that, but suspicion would rise in Jack's mind as to where his allegiances lay.

"But I don't know," Jack continued, "I don't want to send her back home and send her right back into Dante's realm. She hasn't admitted he did those things to her, but I can just feel it. All those bruises, even before I left for Mineral Town...oh, Goddess. All those bruises Trent; I never noticed them until she stopped wearing shorts in the summer time and started wearing these long sleeves and pants. I only noticed they had been there all this time when I saw her face when she came here."

"No one imagines someone would do that to a woman. Their little sister, no less."

"I still love her...so much. She's little Clarissa in my eyes," he said, biting his lip. "I can still picture her smile. You know, she used to smile all the time? A real one, where her eyes wrinkled at the corners. Whenever I was upset I could look to her to find happiness in her smile."

He'd seen it on the night he kissed her. The wrinkles near her eyes, the smile that nearly took his breath away. _She's beautiful...Goddess, she's so beautiful. _And his world would be a bit brighter if he got to see that smile everyday, if he acted on these feelings burning like the brightest flame between them. Jack cleared his throat, jostling Trent from his silent reverie. The doctor lifted his gaze and focused back on the younger farmer.

"It's you...the one she's been fawning over," Jack said, exhaling. "It took me a while to realize it, but she makes that smile whenever you're around."

Trent swallowed the thick knot which settled in his throat at Jack's realization. The air whistled in his ears, chilled his cheeks, and left him feeling uncomfortable before the man. This was his sister they were talking about, and the topic had suddenly taken a serious tone-as if it hadn't been before. It was more personal now; Jack expressed emotions Trent was sure Claire hadn't wanted her brother to tell anyone about. She must have said them in the confidence of his presence, and here he stood, hearing things he was already aware of, yet confused as to why Jack was telling him this.

"I see the way you look at her, too," Jack continued. The words sat low in Trent's stomach like a rock. "Just don't hurt her."

Trent's eyebrows knitted together, shocked he was hearing this. "I wouldn't dream of it. But Jack-talk to her. She misses you."

"I don't know, I need time to think about it. I'm going to wait and see what my parents say." Jack paused. "Seriously, though, don't hurt her. We're friends and all, but if you hurt my sister it's personal-and I _will _hurt you."

The two parted ways after that. But it wasn't until Trent walked into the clinic and found himself wrapped in the blonde's embrace that he realized Jack had given him permission to be with his sister on a more personal level. No more doctor-patient relationship. He pinched the bridge of his nose, smiling down at the excited girl ranting on about her day. _Don't hurt her. _The words circled around in his head, the weight of them like the heaviest of blows-like the world settled on his shoulders.

* * *

Trent found her standing in his doorway later that night, a blanket wrapped around her shoulders, her face pulled into a grimace. He urged her closer and sat her down beside him, rubbed his finger along her jawline. It was then he saw them-the little diamond shaped tears cascading down her pale cheeks. Sighing, the man curled her face against the curve of her neck and held her until she quieted.

After some time he heart her breathing taper off and deepen, the first signs of a deeper sleep. Satisfied, he lifted her and placed her down on the couch he had pushed up against the wall opposite of his bed. He made sure to not wake her and draped extra blankets along her slender silhouette to keep her warm. For a moment she stirred, and he held his breath in fear of waking her, but she stilled and nuzzled her face into the pillow.

Right when he turned back to climb back to the comfort of his bed, the girl lifted her head from her pillow, her blonde locks falling across her face, blue eyes locked on his face. His heart leapt into his throat at the way she stared at him-tired, yet full of confusion...and a hint of intrigue. He moved, ensnared by her gaze, to the side of the couch, his face just a hairs breath away from her. She was against his mouth before he had a chance to utter any words of protest, her hands wrapped into his dark hair.

It wasn't like the first time they kissed. This time she held him in place, her mouth like hot coals against his. Tension rose again in his gut, burning lower when she moved her mouth to his jaw, his neck, his collar bones. His head fell back at the feel of her hands gliding across the fine planes of his chest, a groan filling the air between them. Reality hadn't caught up to him yet-surely her being there, so close, wrapped in him was a figment of his reality. Why had the Goddess blessed him with this creature? So young-so tortured, and yet strong enough to begin the process of rebuilding herself.

His mind whirled. His stomach churned. He couldn't focus on anything but her. Her, and the movement of their bodies toward the bed, her legs locked around his waist. One of his hands curled around the back of her neck. He deepened the kiss, ground his lips against hers, urged them apart. She tasted like strawberries and mint. A taste so sweet he wanted to drown in it.

_Don't hurt her. _

Trent pulled Claire's wandering fingers away from beneath the belt he wore. Her eyes changed from mischievous to concerned in the matter of seconds. He wanted to kiss her with a fierceness unknown to him when she poked her merciful bottom lip out, taunting him for his already nearly impossible efforts to stop the inevitable that burned between them. If he wanted to respect Jack's wishes, he needed to slow things between the two of them before they advanced and spiraled out of reach.

"I made a promise, and I want to keep it. I want to respect the decision I made." He ran his fingers through his hair. "It's hard, trust me. But...we have to take things slow."

Claire's head fell to the side. "So...like this...?"

Her lips moved against his carefully, making sure to pay attention to the sounds he elicited. A vengeful hand moved back to his belt and tugged his shirt free from his pants. She ventured beneath the fabric, her palm smoothing along his chest in patterns unknown. Trent shuddered and gasped, shaking his head at the blonde.

"No, I want to take you out. Preferably to dinner and on the town. I want to try _this_-you and me."

She accepted the offer with a kiss.


	9. Chapter 9

The house was the same. Vaulted ceilings, mahogany floors, white washed walls, glowing victorian chandelier, a table that fit twenty guests. It was hard to forget she lived a charmed life when she was surrounded by vanity every which way she turned.

She whistled. "The place looks nice."

"Yeah, well, mom fired our old cleaning lady and is paying the newest one double the previous salary. Money pays off, doesn't it?"

"I guess..."

"Want anything to drink?" Dante asked, topping off his glass of his latest poison. Whiskey, Claire guessed.

She shook her head, and instead walked around the room, running her finger along pictures of Dante and his family. It was hard being away from them for the past few months. Although her relationship with their eldest son had gone awry, her bond with his parents was everlasting. They had been close with her parents growing up, so it was only natural she and Dante carry on that bond through friendship. Both families had been overjoyed when the two announced they were dating. Her mother even oftentimes joked and planned a wedding, offering to pay for the whole affair if it happened. In a way, Claire felt she had let her mother down.

"I'm glad you came," Dante said, sitting down at the head of the table.

Claire's finger hovered over a picture of Dante, his parent's, and his little sister they adopted from Russia. She remembered hearing about multiple miscarriages when Dante's parents started to try again for another child. When they brought Demetria home for the first time their faces glowed, despite the loss of should-have-been children. To this day the little girl made Claire's heart swell with love. She brought more happiness to her than she would ever know.

"Me, too." Claire lifted the picture off the shelf.

"She's always asking where her 'Clarissa' is...she misses you."

Claire tried to smile but ended up frowning instead. "Do you think she knows what happened...with us?"

"Probably." He shrugged. "She saw you run out of the place."

_Covering my face, no doubt, _Claire thought, running her hand across her face where Dante had hit her for the first time that day. She shuddered at the thought of that night. Her face had stung like he whipped her across the face. She remembered seeing Demi standing in the hall when the blonde raced out of the home and slammed the door behind her. What bothered her most was the fact that Dante seemed unfazed by it all, even now.

"Why are you here, Claire?"

Claire turned to look at Dante. "I thought about what happened...that night. I don't think we should keep seeing each other."

"You can't do this. There's nothing wrong with us, why can't you just realize we're meant for each other?"

Dante paced around the dim living room, swirling the contents of his glass around in his hand. He shook his head from left to right like a pendulum...left, right, left right - Claire watched the movement, her knees wobbling beneath her. It had took her some time to commit to coming to his home that day with intentions of ending their relationship. Her heart wasn't in it anymore, and hadn't been for a while now, but Dante always assured her they had reached a part in their relationship where content set in and they could be comfortable with each others presence. But Claire didn't feel that; something about his assumptions seemed wrong when her body tensed whenever he drew near. There was no sense of content.

"I don't know if I feel that way anymore," she said, moving a step back toward the door. If she needed to slip out of the home in a hurry she knew the pathway to the hall by how many steps it took her. Half if she ran. "Something just doesn't feel right anymore about it."

Dante stepped closer, his hand waving in front of him. His drink spilled over the rim of his cup and splashed across the stark white carpets. She swallowed the thick not forming in her throat, taking another step backward from him. His eyes narrowed at her, formed deadly slits.

"It's not working..."

"That's a lie and you know it."

"No, I'm pretty...certain." She swallowed again. Beads of sweat bubbled on her forehead.

Before she could duck out of the way Dante's hand slashed across her face. The pain of hot coals on her skin sprang to life where his hand struck her. The blonde, disoriented for a moment, blinked the tears from her eyes away, turned on the heel and raced for the door. Her fingers curled around the metal doorknob, right when Dante's glass shattered against the surface. Shards cut her face and tangled in her hair, but before he could run after her she had already raced out the door and clambered into her car.

Only then she hunched over the steering wheel, pressed her forehead against the leather surface, and sobbed.

The horn on her car blared out in her sadness.

An hour later her phone rang and went to voicemail. She had pulled out of the driveway and headed toward the one place she knew she needed to be and dialed her phone number. Dante's voice filled the other end. _"Claire, look...I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you. I was drunk, you know that? I love you. Just let me show you that I really mean it when I say how much you mean to me."_

The girl raced onto the highway. People honked at her as she revved her car over the speed limit, and didn't pay attention to how fast she was going. The sky opened up above her and rain splattered against her windshield. Lightning slashed across the sky in the distance, a violent storm forcing its way over the once sunny sky.

An hour later it hit her just how fast she was driving. She had shaved a whole half hour off her trip. Her car reached the outskirts of Jack's apartment complex. Her face throbbed with the beat of her heart. A car to pulled too far into an intersection as she blindly drove through and frightened her when they honked. Her foot slammed against the brakes and the car hydroplaned and slammed into a telephone pole on the passenger side. Just as the car slammed into the pole thunder rumbled in the sky which would draw the attention of other residents away from the happenings outside, so she peeled the keys out of the ignition and raced down the road, ignoring shouts from the one witness to the accident.

The blonde tripped as she raced across the strip of grass leading up to a hill, her brother's apartment on the horizon. Gasping and trembling, she knocked on the hollow door and prayed for him to answer. His car was parked in the driveway, but she knew he spent hours a day hidden away in the complex gym. A light in his foyer flicked on, illuminating the front of the apartment.

Jack appeared before her within a second, and grunted when the force of the girl pressed against him without another word.

After some time passed he helped her into the home and sat her down on his couch. He had some silly reality TV show on, and it was then she noted an ad in a newspaper, circled in black ink. It advertised a farm. Claire laughed, still in shock and jolted by what had happened in the past two hours. Jack walked into the room with a glass of Coke.

"You're soaked, don't you want any clothes to change into?" he asked her.

She shook her head.

"Claire...you're - you're _bleeding_." Her brother cursed and lifted her chin so her face was exposed completely. She had felt the pricks of glass against her skin, and now noticed blood bubbled along her lip, swollen from where Dante hit her. "What happened?"

"I got in an accident." It wasn't a complete lie.

"_When?_"

"Five minutes or so ago."

"_Shit _- why are you so calm? Where did this happen? How? Where's your car? I'm calling Mom!"

Before he had a chance to run for the phone she grabbed his arm and tugged him closer to her. "Don't call her. She just bought me the car. It was irresponsible of me."

Her senses were dulled. Her heart raced wildly in her chest, and yet she felt calmer than ever before. Jack looked at her like she was a madwoman, and she knew she looked it, too. Skin marred red across one side of her face, and swollen from the impact. Blood dripping from gashes across her face. Hair poking out every which way. All the while she sat with her eyes trained on the wall.

"Where is the car?"

"Down the hill...wedged into a telephone pole."

_"Goddess, damn it, _Clarissa! I'm going to go get your car, and then I am calling the insurance company, and trying to write this thing off like it was a fault in the brakes system or something." He snatched his jacket from a hook on the wall and pulled on a pair of work boots. "Stay there. Don't go anywhere. If you're not in this spot when I come back I'm calling Dad and having him come look at you."

The blonde did as told and pulled out her cellphone. Texts from Dante illuminated on the screen. _I'm sorry. I love you. I didn't mean to do it. I'm going to get help. Please...just answer me. Tell me that things will be okay with us? I'm sorry. You're the love of my life, understand I never meant to hurt you. Claire? Clarissa? Please. I won't do it again._

She curled up on her side and trained her eyes on the TV. Some girl was racing through an obstacle course and failing tremendously. Every time she reached a new platform something popped out and knocked her down. The blonde flicked the remote to another channel. American Idol was on. She groaned and tossed the remote onto the floor, trying to focus on anything but the anxiousness building up as time went on. Jack should have been back...it didn't take long to drive the rest of the way from where she had left the car.

A loud knock filled the home. Claire got up from the couch and peeled back the blinds. Cop cars lights flashed from the driveway. Jack stood with his hood over his head, talking to one of the cops, shaking his head every so often. It was then Claire saw her father and mother racing out of their car, looking as though they both had gotten off from work. _Traitor._

"Hello...I'm officer Howard. I just wanted to ask you a few questions, Clarissa, right?"

Claire swallowed. "Yes."

"May I?" He gestured to come inside.

"Y-yes."

A moment later multiple people stood in the house, Claire seated on the couch across from Officer Howard who snapped a few pictures of her face to show the insurance company. _Faulty brakes. _She heard the words multiple times. Jack stuck to the story, and so would Claire.

"...What happened then?"

"The car swerved into the pole. That's all."

"What about this welt on your face?" Officer Howard gestured to the burning mark on her face. "The skin is already raised. I'm assuming the accident happened not too long ago from what our witness recalled."

Claire's stomach turned. "It _just happened. _I don't know how - it was all _so _fast."

"You're sure?"

"Yes."

"Anything else you would like to tell me?"

"No."

Officer Howard stood to his feet and turned to his partner, Officer Bryland. He turned to her parents and tucked his notepad away in his pocket. They all glanced up expectantly to hear the consensus. Even Claire leaned forward in her seat.

"I'm going to say this is a no fault accident. The insurance company will just need this accident report number, and they'll go from there." He dipped his head. "Have a good night."

The door clicked shut behind then men. Claire whirled around at her brother, eyes narrowed into lethal slits. He had gone against everything he told her, and she had done what he said. Before she could say anything to him her father had her settled back down on the couch and waved a flashlight in her eyes. She swatted his arms away.

"I'm _fine, _thank you! Would you all just leave me alone?" She ground her teeth together. "I just need time..._alone._"

Without another word she slipped off to her brother's room and slammed the door behind her. Ungrateful, she felt ungrateful. For the longest time she craved the attention of her family, and yet here they all were ready to coddle her, and all she yearned for was to be alone with her thoughts. A tow company would be by soon to assess the damage of her car and bring it to their yard. Her parents would talk to her brother and pressure him for more answers as to what had happened to bring her here. But even then he wouldn't know. She hadn't told him; she didn't know what brought her to her brother's home, either.

She shook her head. Her face still throbbed painfully. It was a reminder of Dante's "love." If this was love, she considered, then it hurt. And it wasn't like in the movies. There were no love songs playing in the background while they were together. Only the sounds of class shattering and her heart beating in her ears. Time slipped by in the safety of her own thoughts, and Jack slipped into the room, peeled back the comforter on his bed, and kissed the crown of her head.

"They're gone."

"Thank you," she whispered in the darkness.

"When you want to talk we can talk."

He flipped over onto his back and covered his head with a pillow, fast asleep. Before she joined him she pulled up Dante's texts and typed out a simple message which she hadn't fathomed would seal her fate from that day on. _Everything will be okay, Dante._ A few minutes later she received another text, and exhaled the breath she hadn't noticed she held in all this time. _I'll make it up to you. _

There, in the dark, she curled up to her brother's side and rest her head against his shoulder. For that night they were children again, wrapped in each other's embrace, blocked out from the world. He didn't have to speak. Just being around him eased her stress. But the ad in the newspaper still bothered her. It spoke of a farm. He was thinking of leaving. _Leaving._

That was the night she realized love wasn't what she thought it was. Love was black and blue. Love was neglect. Love was a sorrowful feeling in the pit of your stomach that probed at you whenever you were down. Love was wishing that her parents were there, only to find that they only cared when she did something dangerous. But most of all, love was watching everything you cared about fall into a black hole.

And she didn't even know how true those thoughts were.

* * *

For a long while Claire found herself stressed with the many preparations for the upcoming "Mineral Town Masque Ball." Enough that she could keep up her acts to ignore her brother as long as humanly possible. Three months without his company had gone by thus far, and she wasn't ready to speak to him on more civil grounds just yet. A month prior they had gotten in a loud dispute at the inn, which only led to them being kicked out by a very stressed Ann, requesting that they take their barbarian antics elsewhere.

In that time Claire moved out of Trent's home and into the inn, where she found the rumors of her "relationship," with the man quieted to nothing more than a dim whisper. The ladies in town thought it scandalous that a girl just twenty years old should find herself living with a man almost ten years older, especially while the news of their relationship finally filtered around the town.

Beside the blonde sat a very excited Popuri, holding aloft two dresses she was finding hard to decide between. Claire suggested the blue silver dress with a little bit of lace embroidery and committed back to her project. In the middle of her spread eagled legs was her mask - or what she hoped to turn into a mask by the end of the night. At present it was merely a black strip with cutouts for her eyes. She had other plans, however, to turn it into something extravagant, with butterflies' wings sprouting from her eyes.

"There's a guy on the phone for you downstairs, Claire!"

Ann's voice boomed from the floor below. Claire often wondered where the girl got the lung capacity to shout like she did, and never went a day without sending the blonde's heart racing in fright. Popuri wiggled her eyebrows at the girl, who thwacked her over the head and tugged her along behind her.

"It's probably Trent...or Jack, complaining that I _still _haven't tried speaking with him," Claire said, bounding down the stairs, best friend in tow.

Claire moved to the phone that Ann held aloft in her palm, a smirk on her lips. "An admirer of yours?"

Confused, Claire lifted the phone to her ear and said a quick hello down the line. At first she heard nothing from the other end, just the sound of shuffling papers in the background and the rattle of keys on a hard surface. The voice which met her ears, however, send the world dropping out from beneath her feet. Cold like ice. Harsh as nails down a chalkboard. Deep enough to rattle every inch of her core and send a rush of emotions through her already tensed body. Anger, hatred, confusion, love, rage...she felt them all at once, alive like a fire burning in a forest thick with greenery.

"Hello, Clarissa."


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: **_Masque coming up within the next...two chapters. I cannot wait for that chapter. I have so much planned for it. Think Moulin Rouge Tango de Roxanne; that is my atmosphere set for the tone of that one. I think the Dante arc will wrap up pretty soon as well. Instead of doing a sequel I'm going to just add to this story. I'm liking my soap opera type deal, lol. How sad? Anyway, thank you to my reviewers. Chapter coming more quickly now, I hope!_

* * *

Everything seemed to stop around her. She caught the gazes of both Trent and Jack, veered away from their lunch together. They glanced between her and the girls, unsure of what was going on. Ann and Popuri looked no more aware, either. Other customers peered over at the blonde when her fingers slipped from the phone and the sound of plastic bumping against the wooden counter met their ears. Gathering the phone in her hand once more, Claire lifted the earpiece to her head and tried to find the words to speak. Something - anything, would be better than just standing there, dumbfounded by what happened.

"How?" ended up being her choice of words. How had he gathered the location of her current home? How had he figured out the phone number to the inn. How? Bile rose in her throat; he laughed from the other end, the sound sending chills throughout her body. He always laughed when he was angry with her, and always laughed after he hit her. She'd always considered him sadistic, but after what occurred that day her car accident happened, right before she ended up living on a farm with her brother, she assumed he would have cultivated himself a heart. Such high hopes failed, however.

"I paid your parents a visit. I hadn't seen them in a long while, you see..." he said, his voice trailing off. "I've been trying to work on my alcohol addiction. My parents found out I was drunk the night of your accident - the accident they blame me for. I've had my license taken away until I'm twenty-five; you can blame yourself for that one."

"How...?"

He laughed. Again. "You were screwing Kai."

"Don't even go there, Dante -" Jack jumped to his feet upon hearing the name. Trent curled his hand around his shoulder to steady him. "Why were you talking to my parents? And how did you get this number?"

"I told you...I missed them. They were supposed to be my in-laws, you know? I loved them like I love my own parents." He paused. "But while I was there I noticed a letter sitting on the counter that you wrote them. I'm sure they haven't answered you back yet, right? I'm sorry I had to intercept it like that, but I missed you, too. More than them, actually.

"And then I did this silly thing and actually read the letter. You know what I was forced to read? That you're seeing someone else. That hurts, Clarissa. It really does. Then again, I kind of expected it from someone like you. Jumping from bed to bed, never truly happy. I pitied you, you know? So insecure...so weak -"

"Stop." She spat the word at him, mustering up all the venom she could in her voice.

"Oh, sweetheart, am I upsetting you? I never wanted to hurt you, I've told you that so many times."

"Oh really now?"

"Never," he said, chuckling. "But anyway, back to what I was saying. I took the letter, plugged in the address online, and found the number to the inn you were talking about in your letter. Quite easy, really. Now here we are, months later, back to where we started."

"I wanted nothing to do with you, why can't you just understand that?"

Her voice cracked, and tears spilled over onto her face. Her resolve slipped. Jack moved across the room and wrapped his arms around her shoulders. She felt like a tree billowing in the wind, ready to snap under the pressure. Dante made her weak. He exposed all her vulnerable parts and aimed for them all. When he attacked, it was deadly, and she crumbled.

Jack snatched the phone from her hand. "Dante, why don't you just leave her alone? Oh - oh, is that what I am? Oh...oh really? You never liked me? That's alright, I never liked you either. I'm not fond of guys who beat up on women, and then manipulate them into thinking that's how a man should treat a woman. A real man would never lay a finger on a woman. I'm an asshole? I can deal with that. I would rather be an asshole than some psychotic disgrace for a man. Goodbye."

The phone slammed against its holder, and Jack pulled the blonde into his arms. All the anger she felt for her brother dissolved in the blink of an eye, replaced by the cold dread of hearing Dante's voice after all these months. Her noisy sobs filled the room, and to draw the attention away from the blonde, Jack led her to her bedroom upstairs, casting Trent a look over his shoulder. The man nodded and settled himself down at the table, resuming his lunch.

Claire plopped down on her bed when they reached her room, rubbing her eyes and sniffing back her tears. Jack sat down across from her on the bed, trying to smile, but only ended up making a lopsided grimace. She proceeded to braid her hair to one side and pick at her split ends, despite what had happened a minute prior.

"He knows where we are." Jack didn't even ask. The statement was final.

"Yes."

"What are we going to do?" he asked, biting his lip.

The girl shrugged. "I don't know. Wait for him to come here and find me. I don't even understand why he can't just move on. He's so fixated on _us_. I don't get it."

"He's obsessed and psychotic." Jack leaned back on his elbows. "So what are you thinking?"

Another shrug. "He doesn't have a car. I don't think we have to worry..._yet._ Really, I'm just tired. Of everything. I have the ladies in town preoccupied about talking about my relationship with Trent, I have all the stress from the masque planning with the girls, I have Popuri - Goddess bless her - always blabbering on about Kai and how much she wants him to love her. And now I have my abusive ex calling me up and talking about how much he cares about me."

"Bull shit he does. I don't go around punching Raquel in the face every time we get into an argument." Jack shook his head, closed his eyes, and smoothed his palm over the planes of his face.

"It's fine. Let's just worry about the masque now, and Dante later. He's all about empty threats, you know that..." she said, wishing to will away the conversation of Dante by assuring Jack everything would be fine.

"If that's what you want, that's what we'll do," he said, nodding. "Claire, does this mean -"

"Let's just forget what happened during the camping trip. It never happened."

* * *

Although she had told Jack to forget the phone call the day prior, Claire sat in her room for hours flat on her back with her hair fanned out around her face, counting the rotations of the fan circling around above. She figured she had one of two options: forget the call had even happened; or she could get on a ferry and leave for home, if only to ensure her loved ones in Mineral Town didn't have to witness Dante and her irreversible past she was determined would haunt her for the rest of her days.

She thought about Popuri, her bubbly, pink haired best friend. The girl, though slighted in the head, made even her worst days a little brighter. Karen, who downed bottles of liquor with the best of them, though unconventional, forced her way into Claire's heart, and she imagined it would hurt to say goodbye to her. She thought of Ann, and her late night conversations about Cliff, and how Ann wasn't sure he would ever accept her for who she was. Mary, with her quite, charming nature. Elli and her kid persona. All the boys and the bonds they had formed over the months. Trent, who she admitted long ago was good for her; she deserved their relationship, but he didn't deserve the trauma which Dante created.

Then there was Jack, who even though she fought with on a daily basis, loved with fiercer fire than any other. He was not only her brother, but her best friend - someone she feared living without. He kept her level headed and held steadfast on the ground. With him, she knew she would never fall too far before he caught her and lifted her back up.

Her mind made up, she lifted herself up into a sitting position, got the the floor, and tugged a shoebox out from underneath her bed. Hidden inside lay pictures she intended to throw out, but never mustered up the strength to. Determined, she fished out her pictures with Dante and rummaged through the room for a pair of scissors. For the next half hour the sound of clipping filtered through the room. Snipping away at the parts of her life she never wanted to look back upon. Her and Dante in New York City? Gone. The two of them on the backs of dolphins in Florida? Who cared? First date? Anniversaries? Their high school graduation? History.

When finished, she waltzed down the stairs and tossed the shredded photos into the garbage. Whatever Dante intended to do, she would allow him. But she wasn't going to be pushed around any longer. Working on her brother's farm had hardened her muscles and her being as a whole. The weak Claire he probed at was a long gone, distant memory of the girl who once was.

That Claire died in the car crash.

* * *

Claire sat on her bed in her brother's home. Beads of blood dripped from her finger and glided down to her wrist. She could see the hole the needle had left, but only the slighted outline. Groaning, she got to her feet and ran her finger under the sink, before ducking down and grasping a bandage from beneath.

Jack was walking around the house, tapping his feet, and murmuring something to Raquel about their wedding plans. Something had happened. Raquel thought the date of their wedding too soon, Jack thought it not soon enough. Claire, trying to avoid confrontation, had slipped into her room and toiled away at her mask. What seemed to be going seamlessly, ended up turning south when the girl dozed off a few times and ended up pricking herself.

She slipped into the kitchen downstairs and fished around for the jar of milk she had collected the day prior, poured herself a glass, and turned toward the stairs when her brother called her name. Her body stilled. Turning her head, she grinned in the direction of the arguing couple and waved to Raquel. As much as she disliked the girl, she tried to keep a happy face around her. Jack insisted she "get over" their differences and search for a medium. Claire searched, but she never found what he urged her to look for.

"Claire, get ready, we're going out to dinner. As a family," he said, hooking an arm around Raquel's shoulder. The girl shifted in his arms. "Raquel _will _be your family soon."

Claire gritted her teeth. "Like sisters."

"Sisters!" Raquel grinned.

Jack clapped his hands together. "Well, this is awkward. Go on - get! We have to be at the inn in twenty minutes. That means no staring at your face in the mirror and telling yourself how pretty you are. No amount of make up in the world will tame your face."

"It's a wonder you're getting married," Claire said, sticking her tongue out. "First sight of Raquel in the morning and you might hit the ground running."

With that, and a backhanded insult headed in Raquel's direction, the blonde raced up the stairs and tore open the sliding doors of her closet. She rummaged about until her fingers lingered on a pair of denim shorts and a flowing top. Shrugging, she clothed herself and dug around in the bins hidden under her bed for various cosmetics and hair styling tools.

Back home she valued her looks at all times. In Mineral Town, she felt less pressured to look her best and keep up with the latest fashions. The girl tossed her heat tools back under her bed and outlined her eyes with a sparse amount of make up, brightened up her cheeks with a barely-there blush, and met up with the two in the living room.

The walk to the inn was silent - uncomfortably so. Save for the conversations drifting amongst Raquel and Jack. Invite the parents, or don't bother? Have a ring-bearer, or don't bother? Bridesmaids, or don't bother? The list went on, and frankly Claire ignored every word being uttered. To her, there were no redeeming qualities to be found in Raquel. Behind every woman hid a deceptive side; Claire would never forget the night she spotted her brother's fiancé tangled in Kai's arms, caught in the throes of an affair.

Jack wrapped his arms around Claire when they reached the inn. He kissed the top of her head, peeled the door away, and beamed down at her. Claire's lips tugged downward. The lights were off in the inn. They must have closed for some reason. Claire figured Ann had let Karen in the kitchen again. Last time she allowed her back there the smoke detectors screamed in protest when the busty brunette dropped a towel on the stove and set a fire.

"Happy birthday little sister."

The lights inside the inn flickered on. A banner dangled from the sky, _happy birthday _smiling down on her in her favorite colors. Streamers danced from the ceiling and reached toward the floor. A giant _21 _sat perched on a cake larger than any she received before in her life - a cake large enough to feed a whole town. And, by the looks of the people around her, most, if not all, had shown up for the surprise party.

May and Stu raced over to latch onto the blonde's ankles, wishing her a wonderful birthday. Her friends waved to her, smiles bright along their faces. Karen even dared to hold up a wine bottle and wink in Claire's direction. The boys, for the most part tangled up with the girls, made their way over and embraced her. Even the older people in town wished her a happy birthday as she wandered about the room.

"Are you going to stop being Miss. Perfect and drink with the best of them?" Karen asked, wiggling the wine bottle in Claire's face.

"You mean the two of you drinking?" Rick asked, plucking the bottle from her hand. "You have a two drink limit tonight. Any more, and I'm dragging you home to bed."

Karen whirled around on Rick. "Dragging me to bed doesn't sound bad at all, now that you mention it."

Ann palmed her face. "Gag me now. You know what? I think I'm going to find the closest garbage pail and throw up into it."

"I might take you up on that offer, Karen." Claire turned to Popuri. "What about you? If I'm going to have a drink my best friend will, too."

"No - _no! _You're not corrupting my little sister. Neither of you!" Rick shook his head fiercely.

"You never let me have any fun! Hmpf!" Popuri stuck her tongue out and marched off in the direction of Jack.

Claire glanced over her shoulder as the pink haired girl wrapped her arms around Jack. Over the past month she noticed talks of Kai growing lesser and lesser, and soon enough the girl only brought the man up when the girls gossiped about the happenings in town. The blonde wondered if it had anything to do with the obvious attraction she had growing toward Mineral Town's farmer. Part of her ached to think her brother married in the beginning of February, should Raquel agree to move the wedding date up. Claire liked to think her brother's fiancé was getting cold feet. It hurt to see her friend falling for yet another whose heart was claimed by Raquel.

"Anyone notice Popuri's new found attention in Jack?" Claire asked the whole group.

"I'd rather him than Kai." Rick searched around the room for a moment. "Where is that tool bag?"

"Ever notice how him and Raquel are never around?" Karen narrowed her eyes and said, "It's like the two of them are always too busy for anyone."

Now that she thought about it, Claire hadn't seen Raquel or Kai since they entered the inn. Odd. Everyone around her shrugged in agreement, but curiosity piqued, Claire searched around the room and found neither were present. _Work, maybe?_ she thought, thinking about what her brother said about finding her "medium" toward his fiancé and sticking to it.

"So, Claire...birthday _mhmm_ with Trent tonight?"

Claire blanched at Karen's suggestion. "Oh, Goddess, that's not even your business."

"Yeah...Karen...that was uncalled for," Mary said, her face turning a shade of red even a tomato would envy.

"Where _is _Trent, anyway?"

Claire whipped her head around the room, her eyes on the lookout for her boyfriend. He stood between Popuri and Jack, eyes brightened and crinkled at the corners, caught in what looked to be a laugh. Part of her wondered whether she was ready to take that next step with the man just yet. The other knew it better to wait. Dante never gave her that option. Karen and the others slipped into a conversation about the masque coming up in two weeks, while Claire slipped over to Trent's side and wrapped her arms around his waist. Jack ruffled the hair atop her head.

"I'm still not used to this whole relationship." Jack rubbed his eyes. "I just don't get it. And I'm trying to block the parts out of my memory where I remember that he's the one who examined you that first night you were here."

"Verging on awkward territory right now, brother dearest." Claire's face burned.

Popuri giggled. "Karen says he gives Claire 'exams' _all _the time."

Jack looked about ready to burst. Claire wrapped her hand around his shoulder. "Well, _Karen, _is a pathological liar. She likes to gossip, just like her mother."

"Alright you two, I think it's about time I've earned myself a minute alone with Trent here. We'll be back later after we make our way about the room together." Blushing, the blonde tugged Trent into the inn's kitchen and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. "I missed you. It's been a while since I've last seen you."

Trent tilted her head up. His fingers danced along her cheeks and curled around the back of her neck. His lips descended on hers. Everything around her stilled. It was only her and him in that moment, wrapped together in an embrace she longed for since he had been called away to work for Forget Me Not Valley under the guidance of Dr. Hardy. Two weeks went by. Two long weeks leading up to this moment. Forget the party in the next room over. Within the cage of his arms, Claire almost forgot what reality was like.

"I missed you, too" he said, kissing her forehead. "Happy birthday."

"How was your trip? Did you enjoy the valley? How's Dr. Hardy? Learn anything? Any plans on staying there? How long until your next trip?" Claire spewed the questions out of her mouth without even thinking.

He shook his head. "Let's talk about that later. Right now, I'm more concerned with how you've been."

"I have been fine. It's you I was worried about," Claire rubbed her fingers along his jawline. "Dr. Hardy said you weren't feeling well when I called."

Trent eyed her critically. "You spoke to Dr. Hardy?"

"Is it so hard to believe I was worried about you and wanted to check in?"

He grinned. "Hard to believe...no. But I can assure you I feel fine now."

"You don't _sound _fine," she said, poking him in the gut. "You sound congested. Why won't you let anyone take care of you for once? You're always concerned about everyone else around you. Meanwhile, you're here running yourself into the ground."

His talented fingers rubbed circles along her back. "I worry about everyone else because that's my job. Really, Claire - how are you? Have you tried to contact your parents?"

Claire's eyes narrowed. There went the Dante conversation again. Ever since he called her up at the inn Trent slipped into doctor mode. In a sense, he closed off from her and drew into a serious shell whenever she came near. It bothered her. She wanted to forget. With Trent bringing it up so often she wondered when the name "Dante" would become no more than a distant memory. Although they had taken their relationship to a newer level, a sense of doting always filled the air when they were together.

"I'm fine. Can you treat me like the person you are dating for once, and not just another patient?" She tucked her tooth against her lip.

"I'm sorry...I forget to turn that off from time to time -"

Claire raised her brows. "From 'time to time'? Just a few weeks ago you called me because you noticed I coughed a couple of times when you visited Jack and I on the farm. You even suggested I head down to your clinic for an exam."

The man smoothed his palm along his face. "Okay, you're right. But I only do it because I lo - care about you."

The girl caught the slip up. Two more letters and the word was real. Love. Her stomach churned, heart raced in her chest, breathing grew labored and erratic. Blue eyes flickered about his face, searching for any inkling. Any further proof which denied his heart's true feelings. She found none. Instead his lips tugged into a smile - a real smile - when she flew into his arms and pressed her lips against his. He breathed his love into her. And she her own. In the next room over her guests milled about, conversing over life's many joys. Within the kitchen, Claire allowed Trent to kiss her properly; to hold her in a way a man was supposed to hold a woman he cared about.

"I love you, too."

Trent smiled against her mouth. "Happy birthday, Claire."

* * *

The silence on the beach was eerie. Save for the hiss of the waves lapping across the shore. Jack and Popuri found themselves staring into the waves, caught up in a conversation which led them in the direction of the murky waters. For a moment, Jack closed his eyes and inhaled the salty air. Here he found peace; here he forgot the long, hard hours he toiled away on his farm, tending to crops and animals, feeding his sister, collecting wood to keep them warm for the winter months. Here he forgot the stresses of his engagement.

Popuri stirred from beside him, her hand around his wrist. Pink eyes danced under the moonlight. Jack never noticed how beautiful his friend was in the year and a half they knew each other. Naive, innocent, Popuri, blinded by a life of jilted romance. She deserved more than Kai could ever offer, and he assured her of that. Part of her wondered who, if not Kai, would ever be good enough for his pink haired friend. She caught him looking at her, head tilting to the side. A waterfall of hair spilled around her face and shoulders, whipping across one cheek.

"What?" she asked, pouting.

"Nothing, I'm just...happy -" Jack's head whipped in the direction of the Snack Shack. "Did you hear that?"

"It sounds like something broke." Her fingers squeezed his wrist. "Don't go over there. Who knows what it could be! What if it's a bear?"

Jack snorted. "A bear on the _beach, _'Ri? Bears hibernate in winter."

Popuri blushed. "I knew that!"

"Come on," he said, tugging her along behind him.

The Snack Shack was quiet. Eerily so like the beach had been when he'd arrived. No lights were on, and it took a bit of probing about to make his way over to Kai's office, which doubled as his bedroom. A stream of light trailed along the floor. Popuri glanced up at Jack in the dark, her eyes rounded in fear. He squeezed her elbow, assured her, and pulled the door back.

There, in plain view, laid a sight no one should have seen. Raquel sprawled on her stomach, covered in blankets from her hips down. Beside her slept none other than Kai himself, one of his hands interlocked with Jack's fiancés. His fiancés. He grew cold. Bile rose in his throat. It took all of his strength to _not _retch into the nearest waste bin. Raquel stirred from beside Kai, her head turning to look in Jack's direction, face veiled by a curtain of black hair.

_Goddess..._

She scrambled to clutch the nearest blanket and covered herself.

_No. _

Raquel made it halfway across the room, shouting his name, when Jack turned and raced out the door. Popuri looked back behind her at the confused brunette, and the man stirring beside her. She shook her head once and darted after the brunette, her curls bobbing about her back. The man sprinted for the dock, ignoring Popuri's pleas to stop, and jumped off the edge. Black enveloped him. The cold swallowed the rest.

* * *

Claire shoved Trent across his office desk, hands reaching for anything to grab onto. His shirt, his tie, his belt - it was never enough. She wanted more. Always more. Karen's words filled her ears. Another kiss scorched her neck. He groaned into the hollow where her jaw met her ear, sending chills up and down her spine. Trent flipped her onto her back, wrapping a strong hand around the back of her kneecap and pulling her against his frame. Too hot. She was too hot. Like a phoenix reborn, she exploded and basked in the glow of his passion, born anew.

"Trent! Doctor Trent! Goddess," Popuri screamed, knocking on the door. It was Claire who raced to open it and pull the pink haired girl into her arms for an embrace. "It's Jack."

Chest tight with fear, Claire ran into the exam room and wrapped her fingers around her brother's cold ones. Trent moved his stethoscope along the planes of Jack's chest, his face revealing no signs or thoughts to ease Claire's nerves. Trent got up from her brother's side and pulled more blankets from a cabinet. The whole time Jack remained still, his skin a blueish hue.

"What's wrong?" Claire called as Trent neared the door. "Tell me."

"Claire -"

"It's my brother."

He exhaled. "Give me time."

A few minutes turned to an hour, and soon enough Claire slipped into bed next to her brother's side, kissed his temple, and prayed for the Goddess to wake her brother. Sleep claimed her then. Voices wove through her troubled dreams. Different ones, and at least four of them. For a long while she listened. The high pitched voice...Popuri. Her mind identified Trent next. The two low voices met her ears next. Both rough - husky. Tired. Her blood chilled at their voices. It sounded deceitful, speaking of betrayal and the results of their actions.

Raquel's name floated across her mind.

She shifted onto her back, lids fluttering open. A high ceiling, dim shadows chasing across it from the firelight, met her sight. She lay in a bed, covered with blankets. It was not her own room. One of the voices had ceased, but the others continued. She groaned and pressed her head against her brother's shoulder. Her head turned, at the sound of someone kneeling down beside her. It took an effort to do so and she frowned.

"Trent..." Claire whispered his name. "Any word?"

"I think it best Jack explains what happened when he wakes."

Claire sighed, climbing to her feet. "When will that be?"

"It's only a matter of time now," Trent said, looking at his watch. "For now, just let him rest. I'll make us something to eat in the meantime."


	11. Chapter 11

The scent of freshly cooked cinnamon buns filled the air. Jack flopped over onto his back, his eyes trained on the doorway. From where he laid he heard his sister's voice, elated and bright, amused by something Trent had said. Popuri's lilt met his ears next; saddened and worried, a true alteration from the typical state. Worry for him, he supposed. Claire must have cracked a joke, for the pink beauty laughed a moment later. Her girlish voice bubbled over her lips like a new blossom in springtime.

Jack groaned and lifted himself from the bed. Limbs and muscles cracked and stretched taut in protest. Even the slightest of movements tugged at his sore body. His eyes met his reflection in the mirror. He looked far worse than he felt. Shadow rimmed eyes, reddened cheeks. Inside was a whole different story. His lungs burned with a cold, nose cried out in protest when he breathed, and face throbbed from the congestion. Served him right, he thought, for doing something as recless as juming into the ocean in winter.

It seemed a good idea at the time. He needed to get away - to let go of his pride Raquel mangled. Anything he received he deserved for going against his sister's warnings. She hadn't lied; those three months without her presense ebbed away at his heart like the tide before it swallowed him whole. This was his punnishment. A far lesser evil than he deserved.

In the next room over stood his angel. An angel he didn't deserve. His close friend Popuri, unaware of the struggles of day to day life. A girl who walked around the world with her head held high, oblivious to the seed of betrayal. Yet there she was that night, screaming his name, pleading for Kai to fish him out of the ocean when the first wave barreled over his head. Everything after that was erased from his memory, everything after that was clouded in black.

It reminded him of Raquel's coal colored hair. The bitterest of pills to swallow.

* * *

"So you jumped...into the ocean...in the winter." Claire slammed her fist down on the table. "I'm going to _rip _the extensions out from her hair. Trent, hold my earrings."

"You're not _wearing _any earrings!" Popuri pointed out, pushing Claire's hair to the side. "And what would ripping extensions out have to do with earrings?"

Jack tried to smile. "She means she's going to defend my honor by fighting Raquel. Which she doesn't have to do, because I'm going to handle the situation myself. I'm just relieved I found out _before _I went along and married her."

"...Jack." Popuri whimpered and scooted closer to the man's side, her head against his shoulder.

"The part that sickens me the most is that it's Kai." Jack pinched the bridge of his nose. "She was screwing Kai this whole time; Claire was right."

Claire shook her head, frowning. "Don't even. This isn't even an 'I told you so' situation. This is a beyond messed up situation. How did you even find out?"

"Popuri and I were together on the beach -" At the look of Trent and Claire's smirks, Jack's face reddened. "Not doing anything you perverts! Anyway! We were on the beach and I heard something break from inside the shack. Lo and behold, I walk in, see Raquel as naked as the day she was born, and a sleeping Kai next to her."

"I'm going to kill her."

Claire got up from her chair, flipping through her invitations she had planned to pass out to the townsfolk that day. Holding Raquel's aloft for everyone to see, she proceeded to rip it down the center. Then again. And once more, until the invitation was shredded beyond recognition. Jack's lips upturned slightly. Claire hoped it was a sign of happiness. Just a crinkle of the eyes would suffice for now.

"I never wanted to be right about this one," Claire admitted, pacing around the room. "Trent, any way we could kill her and make it seem like an accident?"

Trent coughed up his orange juice at her request. His eyes surveyed her, keen and missing nothing, his lack of amusement present. She smiled coyly, batting her eyelashes at him. The man shook his head. Defeated, Claire plopped back down in her chair folded her arms across her chest. Jack rolled his eyes at her.

"Don't bother worrying about it. I'm going to lay it on her thick once I build up the nerve to - and the words to. What do I say to her anyway?" he asked, more so to himself than anyone else. "Thanks for the year or so we dated, but I don't appreciate the third party in our relationship, so I think it's safe to say the wedding is off."

Claire chuckled. "I have a few choice words for her -"

"I know you do, but this is something _I _have to handle. She was my fiancé, after all." He turned to look at Popuri. "But enough of Raquel, Popuri over here is the real hero. A pretty big wave knocked me over when I jumped in, and she was there to get help. I guess she also brought me here."

The pink haired girl in question blushed. "I just did the first thing that came into mind."

"Well thank the Goddess for _that," _Claire said, trying to suppress her laughter. Typically, the first thing which came to Popuri's mind did more harm than good. "Really, I'm thankful you were there to help him out. Who knows what would have happened if you weren't."

"He could be far worse than he is now." Trent gestured for Jack to get up from his chair. "Which reminds me that I should probably give you another once over, just to be sure you're not going to develop pneumonia from last night's antics."

The men slipped out of the room. Claire turned to look at Popuri, her lips tugged into a bright smile. Popuri raised a brow at her, head tilted to the side. Popuri opened her mouth, probably armed with a question, but Claire's words spilled out first.

"You've been preoccupied with my brother lately. Why haven't you told me that you liked him?"

Popuri blushed again. "I _don't;_ we're friends! Plus he's - he's your _brother._"

_"So?"_

"It's weird, isn't it? I'd like to think we're sisters," Popuri said, her voice dropping to a whisper, frightened over the possibility the man in question might overhear the conversation. "Wouldn't that be..._incest?_"

"It's only incest if we were really related."

A pause filled the air.

"I only started looking at him in _that way _after he hugged you when you got off the phone with Dante. He was so sensitive, and dreamy - he reminded me of a hero. I've known him for a year," she said, her voice sounding far away, "but that was the first time I noticed how charming he could be."

Charming. Dreamy. Claire snorted under her breath. The girl lived in some fantastical land where heroes walked the earth and searched for a princess to sweep of their feet. While true in respect to her brother's character, Claire frowned at the atypical view Popuri held toward the world. Reality, when it set in, burned. It webbed it's way into one's heart and claimed everything they knew. Popuri hadn't been hurt in the way Claire had, and as naive as the girl was, Claire wished she could have the same outlook on life. Instead she doubted, second guessed, and worried what life would hand her each and every day.

"Plus, he just had a horrible break up with Raquel," Popuri said, her eyes filled with sadness. She waved her hand in the air lazily. "He's probably never looked at me like he has her anyway."

Claire's lips slipped south. "He thinks you're beautiful. I know that much. Anyone who denies that doesn't have eyes."

Popuri's face brightened. "He has?"

"Oh yeah, a few times. Granted once he was drunk - but the other times he was completely sober!" Claire leaned back in her chair, a contented grin in place of her frown. "Seriously, Popuri, one day someone is going to snatch you up off your feet. Just like in the movies, without the white horse."

"Your brother has a white horse."

"That he does." The blonde winked.

"What about your brother having a white horse?" Jack asked. Neither girl answered him, as he continued speaking before giving the chance, "Doctor Trent over here says I'm all good. Minus the cold I gave myself from going for my late night swim session. But whatever you're hacking up might give me more than a cold, Doc."

Claire moved over to Trent's side, pressing the back of her hand against his forehead. The man immediately shoved her away, his face tinged scarlet. With a groan, Claire reached up into a cupboard and snatched a thermometer from his medicine basket. After much protest, Trent sat with the thermometer in his mouth, lips a firm line. Jack and Popuri spoke amongst themselves, ignorant to the scene happening just a few feet away.

"Oh hush, you big baby." Claire ruffled the hair on top of Trent's head. "When was the last time someone cared for you?" His mouth opened. "-No, no talking while you have a thermometer in your mouth."

Jack turned his head to face the two. "You know, Claire almost went to school for nursing."

Trent's brows furrowed. "You did?"

With the metal in the way, the words came out garbled, but Claire understood them nonetheless. The girl removed the thermometer from his mouth and glanced down at the red line which formed there. _100 degrees. _Ignoring the two, she reached back into the basket and rummaged about for two pills which would work to break the fever. Satisfied, she returned to Trent's side and popped the capsules into his palm.

"You'll live," she said, gesturing for him to swallow once he placed the pills in his mouth. "And yes, I did. I had the grades for it and everything. My top college accepted me. But, you see, I was in a car one night and crashed into a pole. When that happened, my parents shipped me away at the first chance they got to live here."

Silence descended over the room. Three sets of eyes locked on her silhouette. She felt like she'd been caught in the act, with nothing to cover her but a pillow, and had to pick her poison. As much as it hurt to have to send a letter of refusal to her school, and explain to everyone in her family who rooted for her future why she wasn't going to college, Mineral Town treated her well. She _enjoyed _the quiet lifestyle. While sunny California had been her home for years, Mineral Town captured her heart with its charming architecture and welcoming atmosphere.

"It's not a big deal, though. I'm happy with what I have here." She smoothed her palm along Trent's back. "I don't think I would have been happy as a nurse. That was always my parent's dream for me, anyway..."

"Claire doesn't even like chickens!" Popuri laughed. "I couldn't see you working with people when you squeal like a little girl whenever Clucker-doodle-doo gets close to you."

Claire's eyes narrowed. "I told you to not tell anyone about that!"

"You have a chicken named Clucker-doodle-doo?" Jack asked, before bursting out into laughter, which eventually turned into full on tears.

* * *

"Honestly..."

"Ah!"

"I'm fine -"

"Says the man running a fever."

Trent's room was pitch black. Claire, with the idea in mind that her boyfriend was sicker than he thought himself to be, decided it about time to show him what it felt like to be cared for by someone else for once. All these years he toiled away long hours, caring for others. At the drop of a hat he could contract something, but no one ever thought about his health. Tonight she wanted to make him comfortable. And after much protest, she'd managed to get him to strip off his work attire and slip into a black tee-shirt and a pair of flannel pajama pants.

"A low grade one -"

Claire pressed her finger against his lips to quiet him. "But still a fever."

"Why are you so determined?" he asked, bemused by the fact that she'd even gone as far as tucking him into bed.

"You're always doing things for others," she said, brushing dark tufts of hair out from his eyes. "I wanted to make you feel cared for...just once. And you're sick, even if you don't want to admit it. Even doctors get sick; you're not invincible."

The man shifted onto his side to look at the blonde. Even in the dark he could see her bright eyes glimmering in the moonlight. His fingers curled around her waist and tugged her down, drawing her as close as their bodies would allow. Lips brushed against her forehead.

"Thank you."

* * *

_Dear Claire, _

_All alterations on the dress have been fine tuned to fit you like a glove. I'm so excited to see all the pictures. Your father and I are more than happy to hear that you're seeing someone different. And a doctor, of all professions? It must run in the family! We are excited to meet him once things die down here at work. We were thinking of a vacation in the summer. Let us know what you think about that._

_We spoke to Dante recently. He seemed concerned over your wellbeing. It hurt him to know he caused the accident. His parents seem to think rehab has done him well. He does seem back to how he was before. _

_I hope you have a great Christmas, by the way. Everyone in the family sends their love. _

_Until next time. _

_Love, Mom._

Claire twirled around in front of the mirror. Her mother had been right about the alterations. Each and every bit of her body was accentuated by the black fabric. And the silver bead detailing accentuated her waist, the curves to her back, and revealed a bit more of her body than she wished for. Nevertheless, her mother had done a great job. Releasing a breathy exhale, the girl placed her mask against her face and tied it in place with the black ribbon. Her eyes remained closed the whole time. Another shaky breath passed from her lungs. Her eyes opened.

Standing in the mirror was a girl she no longer recognized. Long gone were the bruises which marred her face when she first arrived in Mineral Town. Her body had leaned down and changed. She looked healthy - strong. Like a butterfly hatched from her cocoon. This girl was a woman now. No longer a puppet dared to be played with. Her head lifted. Fingers danced along her jawbone, the bridge of her nose, the high point of her cheeks. She felt as different as she looked. And she admired the changes. This Claire dared people to try their luck. This Claire would say no. This Claire transformed into a human being she was proud of.

Satisfied, she lifted the flowing curtain of a dress and stepped down the stairs, smiling at her brother, staring up at her in what looked to be pride. He extended an arm to her and allowed her arm to loop with his. Another exhale. She faced Trent tonight. Tonight she dared to allow him her mind, body, and soul. She wanted to show him every last bit of her there was to see. Scars and all. It took her some thought, and a bit of mental push in the right direction, but she realized she was ready. Part of her transformation birthed a new, reckless abandon she never harbored before. That part of her dared to take that leap into the unknown.

"You're trembling," Jack said, turning her in his arms to look her in the eye. "What's wrong?"

Her head dropped and shook. "Tonight is going to be a new beginning. I can just feel it." She grimaced and asked, "How are you? It's been a week..."

"It still sucks. But they're leaving in a few days for some chain of islands. If I'm lucky, they'll never come back."

Claire knew that feeling very well.

The inn looked like something out of a dream. Dangling ornaments of silver and gold. A tree which reached up to the ceiling, wrapped with bright silver ribbons, and accented with gold baubles. Dimmed lights, winter solstice music, and the soft lilt of Karen's voice filtering through the room as she sang one of her favorite Christmas songs. For a moment, Claire forgot the room served people on a daily basis.

All around people twirled around in and out of her vision, their masks hiding away their identities. One could only guess the partner beside them. Her eyes searched around for her brother, but found he no longer lingered at her side. He slipped into the crowd, just another body in the masses. Her dress skimmed the floor with each step, body swaying to the tune of the music as she went, her smile blossoming like a flower in full bloom. A genuine one, which curled up at the corners and wrinkled at the edge of her eyes.

Another step. Her breath hitched in her throat at the feel of hands against the curve of her neck. She felt her pulse throb against her skin. _Trent. _She turned on the heel and pressed her palm into his own gloved one. Together they bled into the crowd, their movements slow and elegant. Karen's voice radiated over the crowd, nearing a climax in the song. Trent pulled her flush against his chest, his hands running down the length of her pale arms. A gasp escaped her lips at the feel of his lips against her palm.

* * *

Trent and Jack stood on the steps leading to the main floor of the inn, their hands resting on the beam. Below the world swirled around in color, couples dotting the dance-floor, tangled up within one another. One particular couple caught the doctor's eye. Her blonde hair stuck out the most against her black dress and silver mask. Her chest was pressed against another man's, his mouth opened and hot against a very familiar neck, lip grazing it ever so softly.

"Who is the girl in the silver butterfly mask?"

"That would be Claire." Jack waved his hand in the air, keeping his sights set out for Popuri within the crowd. He had promised her a dance.

"If that is Claire...who is _that?_"

Claire circled around below, her feet moving across the floor effortlessly. The man kept his hands in hers, moving with her, dipping her back every so often. They ebbed and flowed like waves lapping a shore. Their movements in synchronization, as if their bodies had melded together in such a way before. Every step seemed planned. Anticipated. When he moved, she followed; when he gave, she took, and advanced, her body never far apart from his. The song peaked again, and their bodies came together. The man's hands lifted Claire's high above her head, and very slowly, almost sensually, like a cat about to catch her prey, Claire's arms snaked around his neck. A breath passed from both their lips before their lips met.

That was when the slap rang out.


	12. Chapter 12

A/N: This chapter was hugely music inspired. Here's an idea of the moods behind this chapter, in case anyone is interested lol. ;)

_Chris Cornell - Scream:_ This about sums up the emotions of Dante I would think, screaming out at Claire - trying to prove to her that he's changed.

_Snow Patrol - Set Fire to the Third Bar:_ Very much the moment when Claire gives herself to Trent.

_Placebo - Running Up that Hill:_ Just the emotion behind this whole story. A new beginning is what the story is about, really.

_Moulin Rouge - Tango de Roxanne:_ When Claire and Dante are dancing, and she finds herself still attracted to him, much to her displeasure.

_Bon Iver - Skinny Love:_ Sums up the blind love between Claire and Dante. Skinny love is basically love without true foundations. They were never good for each other, and yet they still find themselves wanting to be together.

* * *

.

Soft notes of a violin filled the air, quiet and foreboding, heightening the tension in the air. It squealed suddenly and the song warped into a sensual tango. Claire's neck tingled at the feel of Dante's breath against her supple skin. Chills raced up and down her spine. Curious glances met the couple in the middle of the dance floor. A heartbeat later, and the slap forgotten, Claire's feet moved across the floor in tandem with her partner's. Whenever he took a step back, she moved forward. Back, forward, back, forward - until they danced together like two swordsmen, dueling with their weapons brandished, aiming to draw blood. Going in for the kill, hellbent on blood.

A warm hand smoothed down the curvature of her waist and settled against the small of her back. His hand dared to move lower and emitted a hiss out of Claire, her teeth bared like a mountain lion, prepared to make the final blow and pounce on her prey. He chuckled, his lips pulling up to reveal a set of wolfish teeth, glinting in the dimmed lights. Claire's heart fluttered in her chest; she hated that he still elicited emotions of forlorn out of her whenever near. The way he grinned at her and moved his body along with hers, coming together to form movements, thick with passion and red hot lust. How his expert fingers moved her hair to the side and grazed his lips across her shoulder, dragging them up to her neck, and biting the skin there.

When he turned her around in his arms and lowered his mouth toward hers, she slipped back into reality and narrowed her eyes up at the man, her chin tilted upward, jaw clenched. In the distance somewhere she heard the giggles of Stu and May, dancing together merely feet away from the scene stirring up, unknown and irrelevant in their innocent lives filled with trivialities of the world. How she wished to be their age again, ignorant to her own reality.

"What are you doing here?"

"I told you I missed you," Dante said, twirling her around in his arms. With her back against his chest, he gripped her hips in his calloused hands and moved them about in a slow circle. She struggled to push him away from her. "And I figured I would come see you; what a better time than today for this masquerade. You shouldn't struggle so much, Claire. After all, it was you who came willingly and danced with me - _kissed me._"

_I thought you were Trent. _"I told you I wanted nothing to do with you any longer."

"Yet here you are, dancing with me..." He breathed against her neck, pressing his lips ever so slightly to the gentle curve of it. "Your body responding in the way it is...as if you never forgot how perfectly we've always fit together."

"You disgust me."

Dante laughed. "They say there is a thin line between love and hate, sweetheart."

Claire spun out in circles, her hand never leaving Dante's. Already the mark on his face swelled up where her palm had struck out at him. The sheer shock of his familiar mouth against hers scorched her from the inside out. For a moment, everyone stopped, only to proceed once more when Claire giggled and claimed it was an accident. Funny, she had thought, for the first few times Dante had hit her, he, too, claimed it had been an "accident."

Their bodies returned to one another, her pelvis pressed against his. Her heart pounded in her ears when he caressed and probed her body, acting as though they never fell away from one another. It disgusted her, and still part of her heart tugged whenever his warmth radiated against her skin. Familiarity, she supposed, drove her to slip back into his ploys to get her back into his life. Another part of her longed for Dante to dissipate and morph into Trent. She hadn't even seen a glimpse of the man.

"Everyone is watching us...look." Claire did. Eyes locked on the couple, enraptured by the slow movements of their dance. "We've had a lot of practice, after all. Even if there wasn't a dance-floor involved."

She dared to slap him again, but a firm grasp latched around her wrist. "You're just as beautiful as I remembered. Maybe even more so. Farm work has done you well; your body looks irresistible in this dress of yours. I will have to thank your mother for that one. As good as it looks on...I bet it looks even better _off._" Her other hand went for his face, but he intercepted it before she even came close to making contact. "You're so much more alive than you were before. There's a fire in you."

"Why don't you crawl back in the whole you came out of?" she asked, smirking.

"Come on now, Clarissa," Dante said, lowering his lips against the hollow of her ear. "I know you don't mean that."

"And what makes you think that?"

"Like I said, the way your body is reacting to mine is proof in itself. Even now, I can do this..." - he kissed the spot right below her ear - "and you'll shiver."

"I have a boyfriend."

"Where is he, then?" Dante paused to gesture about the room.

Claire bit her lip. "He might not be here yet."

"No man in their right mind would want to miss out on seeing you like this." His hands curled around her hips, tugging her flush against him.

"Get your hands _off_ of me." She shoved and pulled away from his grasp, folding her arms across her chest. Dante's lips twitched in the faintest of smirks. "Why are you _really_ here?"

The last time Claire had seen him, he had a cast on his leg and stitches across his cheek and forehead where shards of glass sliced the skin to the bone, his hair matted to his head with sweat. He had seen her looking his way and glared at her, as if to claim the accident was her fault - that she had been the one who did him wrong. And yet her mouth never once touched the bottle of vodka that night. Even in the hospital, wounds and all, Dante attracted the attention of women around him. Dressed in a tuxedo and his simple black mask, Claire couldn't deny the sheen of sweat which broke out across her forehead. She cursed herself for it.

No one in their right mind deserved to be slapped and punched on a daily basis, pinned to a wall or bed, and forced to satisfy a man who wanted to please _himself. _Yet his words webbed their way into her heart; as much as she loved Trent, she rushed right into their relationship. _Hopping from bed to bed..._She shook her head free from the thoughts, turning on the heel. Dante grabbed her wrist before she went, drew her near him, and leveled his eyes with hers.

"Give me a chance." His eyes searched hers, rounded and expectant.

"A chance?" She spluttered. "A chance to _what?_"

"Apologize. Make up for all the things I've done for you. Try to explain how much I've changed - how I am bipolar, but I'm on medication for it now..."

The violin brushed against the strings, jarred notes spewing out from the speakers set up around the room. Dante turned Claire in his arms, pulling her hips against his lower abdomen. She struggled in his grasp, but his hands held tight. He clutched her hands and moved them across the sculptured muscles on his chest. Her head shook at the contact, his heart pulsating beneath her fingertips. _Another kiss. The move of a hand, drawing her skirt up higher around her waist. Her fingers splayed across his chest, right over his heart; it thrummed like a hummingbird's winds. Faster. Faster - faster! He kissed her, flipped her over onto her back. Black swirled over her vision. _The girl shook her head free of the machinations of her mind, gasping at the burning in the pit of her stomach. It spread and churned, warped and drifted lower.

"No...n-n - _no! _This isn't happening." She freed herself. "I need a minute."

"Rissa..."

Her throat swelled, head whirled, and heart throbbed in her chest. A knot balled up in her stomach. Her mouth rounded to speak, but a garbled, agonized sob broke free. He'd used her nickname many times before, but hearing it now, in the middle of a dance floor, the two of them further apart than ever before, and damaged beyond repair, tore her heart right down the middle. Behind her stood the man she swore at one time she would marry - only now he made her blood run cold and nerves run rampant. She didn't know what to say...what to _feel. _Was it wrong to yearn for a do over? Was it wrong to wish they could turn back time and erase the parts of their broken past which fueled her anger toward him?

"Please..."

Claire raced out the door to the inn before he could say any more.

* * *

.

Trent found her in the church, on her knees, head bowed low.

"I didn't know you believed in the Goddess," Trent said, lowering himself onto the ground beside her.

She shrugged her shoulders. "I don't - not really, at least," she admitted, her eyes downcast. "I was praying for her to help me grasp the situation at hand."

"With Dante?"

She nodded. Trent shook his head and folded the girl in his embrace. Her head tucked beneath his chin, forehead pressed against the column of his throat. Then and only then did she release the breath she'd forgotten she kept within all this time. _Goddess, _Claire thought, lifting her head to the mosaic portrait of the deity, _give me some direction. I know I haven't relied on you for much, but I need help more than ever now; I don't know what to do anymore. How can I forgive Dante? How can I forget about someone doing something like this?_

Trent tucked stray blonde hairs behind Claire's ears. She lifted her head to him, her silver mask still on her face. Her teeth tucked against her bottom lip. For a moment the room filled with silence, right before a contented sigh spilled from Trent's mouth at the feel of Claire's lips locked with his own. As horrified as Claire had been, he watched from the stairs, his eyes trained on the duo dancing across the floor, their heads bent low in conversation, Dante's hands against her flesh...

"I'm sorry...about tonight," Claire said, her lips forming a frown. "I wanted it to be perfect, but Dante took over the spotlight - as usual."

"Hold that thought."

Trent untangled himself from the girl and walked across the room, hitting play on the radio positioned on the far wall of the church. Music filtered through the room, quiet and simple, the words unknown to Claire's ears. She didn't care, either. Her eyes were transfixed on the dark haired man, his hand extended to her, his eyes crinkling around the corners, visible despite the black mask. Grabbing his hand, the girl found herself in the cage of his arms, swaying to the music, her dress skirting the floor.

"What did he say to you?"

Claire bit her lip. "He apologized for everything."

Trent tilted his head to the side, considering. "Have you accepted his apologies?"

"How can you even begin to forgive and forget something like this?" she asked, more so to herself than the man leading her along the floor. "He was such a big part of my life growing up...we were best friends. At first when we started dating things were normal, and then it went south. He loved alcohol more than he loved me. And it made him violent. I can't just forget that. He claims he went to rehab, too, and is on medication for bipolar disorder..."

"And you miss him..."

Claire halted in her movements, detecting the tone of jealousy in Trent's voice. "Are you jealous?"

"Wouldn't you be? The man had his hands all over you -"

"It felt nothing like it does with you." She moved hone of his hands to the small of her waist, the other she tucked against the curve of her neck.

_I'm miles from where you are, I lay down on the cold ground and I - I pray that something warm picks me up and...sets me down in your warm arms..._The lyrics drifted around the room, and with a soft sigh Claire found herself pressed as close as humanly possible to Trent's chest. Her mouth moved like coals against his, hands struggling to find the buttons on his tuxedo. Warm fingers danced along her skin, ghosting across the flesh peeking out from the cutouts of her dress. A gasp, a strangled groan, the frantic kisses. Her heart pounded from within its cage, threatening to break free, launching itself into the unknown. Trent's mouth moved across the column of her throat, caressed her collar bones, drifted lower - _lower - _

"Goddess - Claire, we're in a _church._"

"That can be easily remedied."

* * *

.

To Claire, it wasn't about the _act. _To her, it was the connection, the way their bodies fit together as if they were destined to fall against one another in complete bliss. To her it was the way he brought her palm over his heart and branded her handprint against his skin, the way his mouth scorched trails along her body, eliciting tingles everywhere they roamed. Two people, coming together in the rawest form. Completely so. Everything around them faded in the background, leaving the two of them on their own deserted island, where the only thoughts were filled with pleasing the other. They were stripped both physically and emotionally, rubbed raw, ripped open, and exposed to one another. He saw the scars from the accident on her body, the faded scars on the inside of her thighs, a result of struggling and trying to keep Dante's lecherous fingers at bay.

Claire laid against Trent's chest, her finger trailing up and down the thick scar running down the man's sternum. At birth, the man suffered from a heart defect, and required surgery when he turned two. The man who fixed people's ailments on a daily basis arrived in the world with a broken heart. She thought it ironic that even the most put together of people fell apart at one point. In a way she didn't feel so alone. He shifted beneath her and pulled the blonde into a sitting position, grasping her discarded mask in his fingers and placing it over her eyes. His lips touched hers, briefly, before he smoothed his hand down her shoulder and lifted himself off of the bed, reaching for her rumpled dress.

"We don't have to go back..." She pouted up at him, her voice a simper, laced with an edge of _want_.

"We don't have to hear Manna talk about this with the other women in town either if we head back before people begin to notice," he said, his lips tugging into a knowing smirk. Claire grunted, then exhaled. "As much as I would love to keep you here for the rest of the day."

Her heart flipped in her chest at the very suggestion. "That makes it worth all the rumors we'll hear tomorrow."

Trent chuckled, running his fingers through his hair. The opposite hand extended, her dress brushing against the floor. "Get dressed."

* * *

.

Claire swung the basket filled to the brim with wood as she walked, her braided hair bouncing against her shoulders, a smile plastered across her face. Beside her Popuri spoke about the dances she shared with her brother Jack during the masque, her pink eyes filled with delight. Suddenly, the pink haired woman turned to look at Claire, steadied her gaze on her beaming face, curiosity replacing her joy.

"Where did you and Trent go?" she asked, tilting her head to the side. "Jack noticed you were gone at one point...did Dante upset you?"

Claire blushed. "Sure. We'll go with that explanation."

"You _didn't! _Claire - don't you think you should have waited?"

"Until when?"

"I don't know! Mom always said it was better to wait until you were married to do that," she said, biting her bottom lip.

"Claire was never one for that..."

Both girls whirled around. Dante, clothed in a pair of jeans and an olive colored sweater that accentuated his eyes - much to Claire's disappointment - his hair disheveled and yet attractively so. The blonde bristled, her heart constricting from within its cage. She placed her hand over her breast, startled, and yet annoyed that her heart still reacted this way whenever the man drew near to her. He should have been her kryptonite, and yet she still felt that trill of desire when in his company.

"You and the Doctor have a nice night, Rissa?" Dante smirked and chuckled, but it sounded dark against her ears. Spiteful, and rimmed with jealousy. "Doesn't that go against the whole...hippocratic oath he took when he became a _doctor?_ I'm sure his colleagues wouldn't be too happy to find out that he's been sleeping with his patient."

"Do you find joy in my suffering?"

Popuri placed her hand around Claire's upper arm. "Come on - let's go -"

"Not at all," he said, frowning at her. "In fact, quite the opposite; I only want what's best for you."

"And _what _might that be? _You_?" She laughed.

"I'm only here to say that I'm sorry," he said, taking a step forward. Both girls stepped back. "It's part of my therapy...and rehab."

"I need time."

He dipped his head. "If that's what you need, I'm more than willing to wait."

Without another word, Claire allowed Popuri to lead her away, glancing back every so often to look at Dante. He stood, growing smaller and smaller as the distance overcame them, his eyes focused on the snow, dark and saddened - as if his words rang true. And yet Claire wondered how someone could forgive - how someone could bridge a canyon, not even a gap, that had formed between them. He was willing to wait, she understood that...

But he'd be waiting forever.


	13. Chapter 13

**_(A.N:_** I didn't get my usual email saying I had updated, so in case you didn't either, check to see if you read the past chapter. If not, this will not make any sense. Anyway, thank you for all of the kind reviews. As for how many chapters...In this "Dante" arc, I would imagine we're nearing the end. One _huge _thing needs to happen for that to wrap up nicely. And the end of that arc will get pretty scary. The next arc, I would imagine, I may consider the "Healing" arc. After that, a "Relationship" arc. I am writing this story as a sense of exploration for myself and my writing. So it might not please everyone, because I'm just trying to improve. If after the Dante arc no one reads, that's fine with me. I have a _lot _more planned. But it's mostly relationships and dynamics between characters. This story is about life, love, grief, and all those human emotions. That is what I'm writing this story for. Without further adieu, enjoy...**_)_**

* * *

.

_"And sometimes at night time_

_I dream that you are there_

_But wake holding nothing but the empty air."_

_(Till I Hear You Sing- Andrew Lloyd Webber.)_

* * *

_._

Dante, Claire found, had no plans to leave Mineral Town. At least she assumed so when a month had gone by, and February arrived, cold and unbearably so. And it didn't help he appeared around every corner, trying to intercept her as she wandered about the town, carrying out the chores of the farm her brother requested of her. He was always asking her to talk, pleading with her for a few minutes time - begging her for another chance. She refused each time, picking another, less touchy route. Oftentimes, she brought up the weather, and the conversation ended there.

As time dragged by things around her began to change. Karen and Rick were married, and found out they were pregnant right away. Manna, Sasha, and some of the other older women in town thought it convenient that the two married and fell pregnant so soon after; rumors of a baby out of wedlock swirled about, and for a while Karen kept to herself, the new bride embarrassed by all the negative attention she received.

Then, very suddenly, Popuri and Jack announced that they were together - romantically so. The announcement excited Claire, and she had no qualms as to the perfect match laid out before her. For some time she assumed the relationship would happen, but she never imagined so soon. Still, it only revealed that Jack and Raquel's relationship had been doomed from the start.

Trent also received news from Dr. Hardy that he was to take on a new fellowship with the man, helping him once a week to study new medical remedies and tend to the Valley's people. While Claire congratulated the man, her heart ached for the lack of time they shared together. Most nights he held her to him after releasing the stresses of the day in tender kisses and heated sighs, falling into a deep slumber after. Most nights she rolled away from him and exhaled deeply, wondering if Dante had been right after all. And it killed her to admit it.

He planned on marrying her. The idea terrified her, and she wasn't sure if she was willing to marry a man she had only known for a little over half a year. But after they had made love for the first time, he thought it right that he bind himself to her in the future. She could tell he had wanted to wait until marriage to do what they had, but as time ebbed away he became more comfortable with _those _parts of their relationship. He claimed that the change in scenery as of late was due to him saving up for a blue feather and an engagement ring. The feather for Mineral Town traditions, and the ring as a custom of her hometown. Best of both worlds.

Claire currently hacked away at a stump, poking out beneath its white blanket, but the axe had dulled and her body ached in protest as she persisted. A set of calloused hands came to rest over hers, a pair of arms wrapping her in an embrace. She shuddered and stilled when she realized the familiar cologne of none other than Dante himself. He flashed her a gleaming smile and brought the axe over both of their heads, before swinging it down and splitting the stump right down the middle, both halves breaking apart like the fragmented pieces of her heart.

"If you work too hard you'll end up sick," he said, taking the axe away from the blonde and snatching her bucket off the ground. "Let me help -"

"That's not needed -"

"I _want _to."

Claire paused in her movements at the feel of Dante's hand lacing with her own. "What are you doing?"

"I want to show you something," he said, grinning and leading her toward the winter mines. Where there was once a pond now glistened an ice rink - or so that was what Dante made of it when he dragged her onto the surface and tried to slide around, resulting in both of them falling down into heaps on the ice. "It seemed like a good idea when I saw it."

Claire shook her head, giggling and shoving the man's shoulder. "You weren't bright in your past life - neither were you bright in this one."

"I take offense to that, Rissa."

"You're not going to quit...are you?"

Dante's smile faded. "I'm really trying to make it up to you. All of whatever happened; I never wanted it to get that far. Do you think I like thinking about what I did - the proof of it is still _there_! I look at your face -" He paused and ran his thumb along the scar across her cheekbone, hidden under make up. " -And I know that I did this. It _kills_ me."

She swallowed. "It kills me, too."

He raised a brow at her, his lips turning into a hopeful smile. "Wh-what do you mean?"

"As much as I've tried to hate you - to make myself pretend you're not alive, I still find myself thinking about _you. _And that kills me because I should have moved on by now. I'm with someone else, Dante." She bit her lip. "He's good to me, too. He wants to marry me someday, and I don't know how I feel about it - it seems so soon - but I know we would be happy. But part of me, the worser part, still wishes you were there."

"It wasn't always bad."

She shook her head.

"We were good to each other," he said, his thumb still tracing the line of her scar. "I loved you...wanted to make you happy. And then it changed, but I never wanted it to."

He was too close for comfort. She scooted away a bit, allowing her curtain of blonde hair to fall over her face. He noticed the distance and exhaled. Blue eyes met his darker ones, filled with unshed tears, filled with the hurt of his realization of the distance both physically and emotionally between them. Words only held so much value, and actions spoke _volumes_, but Claire couldn't come to cross that bridge with him. As much as her heart ached when he came near, it sang out in joy whenever she was with Trent. Trent brought her security, contentment. Dante brought along excitement, and an adventure that she dared to go on at a point in time, but wasn't sure she could handle anymore of. With Dante every day was a surprise. It _hadn't _always been bad, of that she assured herself. Some days he held her as a mother would hold a newborn, kissing her until her senses dulled, running his fingers over her skin and making her forget the world around her. Other days he shouted at her until his face had purpled and the kisses turned into blacks and blues, dotting her skin, hidden under layers of make up.

Dante's face lowered toward her's, his dark eyes hollowed and focused on her lips. Her breath hitched when they made contact, lips frozen in place. Her lashes fluttered closed at the feeling of his kiss washing over her like the most powerful of waves. A hand moved to cradle the back of her neck, warm and firm against the skin, bringing her closer. Another hand tugged her into a sitting position, pulled her hips flush against his, his fingers splayed across her hip bone. Just as soon as the kiss began, it ended. And before Claire could utter her protests, Dante had the sudden urge to investigate the winter mines, of which Claire's brother had warned her to avoid. It was easy for one to hurt themselves within.

"Dante, where the hell are you thinking you're going?"

He looked over his shoulder, a goofy grin plastered on his face. "I want to check out the mines. Apparently, there are gems only found in winter in there. Maybe I can turn a profit off of them back home."

"Dante..."

Claire groaned and slipped across the ice after him, nearly landing flat on her face too many times to count. Her head still whirled at the thought of what had occurred. _Is it cheating if I didn't enjoy it?_ she thought as she stumbled and eventually reached the mouth of the mine. Dante had illuminated a flashlight and pointed it at a set of stairs, leading to a lower level. Before Claire could utter a word of protest, he began climbing down, ignorant to her pleas to come back. Reluctantly, the girl followed, her hands trembling against the ladder.

"Can we go back to the surface?" she asked, trembling as a rush of wind blew through her hair.

Darkness shrouded the whole cave, brightened only wherever Dante moved his flashlight. Cold clung to every crevice, chilling Claire's skin to the bone. Goosebumps broke out across her arms, even beneath the thick material of her clothing. Her knees wobbled as she walked about, trying to feel out for where Dante had disappeared off to. He turned around a corner, and the light disappeared all together, urging Claire to move faster.

"Dante...stop it, let me catch up," she said in the dark, her voice cracking. "I'm scared."

"I'm right around the corner, Rissa. Look - I'll turn around, just walk to me...it's okay, I'm right here."

She took a step forward and the ground trembled under her. A moment later the world dropped out from her feet and she screamed. All she heard before darkness clouded over her mind was the sound of Dante calling her name, followed by his hoarse pleas for help until he began to cry in desperation. All she remembered was a searing pain in her skull, and a hot, thick liquid dripping down her face - into her _eyes._ Blood. Then...nothing.

* * *

.

Trent had been told in his college years to never allow himself to become emotionally invested in a patient. As hard as he tried to stick to those foundations of his teachings, he loved the people he worked with in Mineral Town. Especially the blonde haired form laying on a bed, swaddled in blankets, her skin paled beyond recognition. She looked like a ghost, and he felt sick to his stomach knowing what happened - knowing he had been in Forget Me Not when it occurred, and he couldn't get to her right away.

The news came in a call. He had been stitching a cut on one of the locals named Rock, when he got word from Dr. Hardy that there had been an accident. Jack's voice poured through the earpiece on the phone, his words mangled and distraught. All Trent comprehended had been _Claire _and _hurt._ Anything after that slipped past his memory, long gone now and unretrievable. He wished Dr. Hardy a nice week, and raced out of the valley without another word, telling the man he had an emergency to attend to at home.

When he came to her, she lay curled up against Jack, dry blood streaked across her forehead, pleading for the pain to stop. Tending to her wounds aggravated tucked away memories, her actions tugging at him internally, as she pinched his skin while he stitched the open wound on her head closed, as well as stitched a deep gash on her knee and splinted her ankle. The whole time she protested and fought against him, her eyes rounded in terror - as if recalling the hospital visit around the time of the accident.

When he had successfully fixed any visible wounds, he gave her something to help the sleep come, and she drifted off into a deep slumber. He sat at her bedside holding her hand, ignoring the low hissing coming from the next room over. Jack had been arguing with Dante for hours, frustrated that he would have led his sister into the mines. Trent didn't even want to know why Claire had ventured out with that man in the first place. Part of him burned at the idea of what might have occurred between the two.

"Trent." Claire's eyes fluttered open, unfocused in the dark. "I - _ow_..."

"Shh, it's okay...I want you to rest right now."

"I'm sorry." Her voice strained to level out at anything louder than a whisper.

"There's nothing to be sorry about," he said, assuring her with a squeeze to her hand. "It was an accident. Who knew there would be a pitfall?"

"You're not angry?"

He shook his head. "I was worried. I wanted to be here right away but -"

"You were elsewhere. It's okay. You're here now - that's all that matters." It was her turn to squeeze his hand for reassurance. "I love you."

The man reached up and placed both palms on either side of her face. His lips crashed onto hers, frantic and worried, her mouth frozen in place for a moment at the sudden assault. After a moment she drifted off into her daze she fell into whenever he drew near, her eyes fluttered closed. When he pulled away, she groaned and gripped onto the front of his shirt, wanting more. She reminded him of a fragile bird, it's wings clipped and prevented from flight. Laying there with her skin purpled around her wounds, her ankle wrapped in a splint, her hair matted to her face from the dirt that collapsed onto her when she fell. He wanted no more than for her to always fly home - to _him. _The fear he felt when Dr. Hardy informed him of what happened proved his desire to marry her true. It was soon, yes, he understood. But when involved with the woman he knew he would marry, time didn't matter to him. His lips moved across the planes of her face, kissing each and every inch of it, memorizing the curves of her bone structure, noting the freckles splotched across her paled skin, never wanting to forget.

She pushed herself away from him, her gaze leveled with his. "I'm okay, Trent. Really."

"I just feel guilty," he sighed, sitting back in the chair he positioned at her bedside. "I've been preoccupied with Dr. Hardy, and then I find out you were hurt. I wasn't there right away. You could have been far worse."

"_Trent_, stop it."

"He was there for you when I wasn't. That makes me feel even worse."

He didn't have to say the name for Claire to understand who exactly he spoke of. Claire shook her head at the man, disregarding his words. Jealousy webbed into Trent's tone whenever he spoke of Dante, even after the countless times Claire assured him that there was no possibility of them ever saving their fractured relationship. The kiss she shared with the man assured her of that knowledge. It left her cold and filled with dread, as if she had shared a dark secret with someone she knew would tear her up from the inside out.

"Stop talking like that," she said, frowning up at him. "I don't like hearing you talk about him like he's a threat to this - to _us. _He's not, nor will he ever be. Whatever him and I shared is in the past -"

"Oh...I'm sorry, was I interrupting something?" Dante asked, appearing at the doorway, arms crossed over his chest. Claire shifted her head to look at him, her neck screamed in protest. A twinge jolted down her spine at the smirk which passed across his lips. He knew very well he had stumbled upon a conversation that he centered himself in. "Elli, Jack and I are heading off to the inn to 'talk' for a bit. Should we bring you back anything?"

"Something light...like grilled chicken," Trent said, gesturing to Claire before continuing, "I'm worried about how much she can stomach right now."

"Right." Dante dipped his head and winked at Claire. "Kiss - I mean, _see_ you later, sweetheart."

The man disappeared as soon as he arrived. A door slammed in the distance. Trent had grown silent, his fingers running through his raven colored hair. Claire reached out to grab his hand, but it tugged backward, like a whip slashing out against the air. The girl whimpered at the sudden movement, her brows knitted high into her forehead. He moved away from her, his eyes focusing on the dark figures walking away from the clinic, their backs to him. Dante's lecherous arm snaked around Elli's shoulders, drawing her close to him. Jack tilted his head back in laughter when Popuri joined the group and poked his side playfully. His forehead met cold glass, eyes closed, shoulders squared from tension.

A pair of trembling arms came to wrap around his midsection, and the man spun around to assist the girl, wobbling and standing on one leg. Without saying another word he scooped her up and settled himself down on the bed with her, her frame relaxing against his broader one. Still, the silence lingered, a presence unwanted between the pair, but alarmingly there. Claire exhaled and pressed a kiss to the man's cheek, trying to keep her tears at bay when she opened her mouth to speak.

"We kissed; that's what he was talking about."

"Oh."

"That's all you're going to say? _Oh?_"

"What do you want me to say?"

She shrugged, at a loss. A chasm opened up beneath her, the gap licking at her heels, edging her forward. _Jump, _it whispered to her, beckoned her. Even with the man holding her close to him, she never felt this distanced from someone. The chasm seemed almost tempting. Where did one begin in a situation like this? _He kissed me, Trent. He kissed me, and I kissed him back; I didn't like it, but I still returned the favor. It happened. _Her head shook, tears falling free against her cheeks. Dark eyes met her sapphire ones.

"Why are you crying?" Trent asked, his eyes narrowed. "You're the one who went behind _my _back, while I spend my days separated from you to make some sort of future for us."

"It just happened. I can't even explain _why. _One minute he's helping me collect firewood, the next he's kissing me, and I didn't know what to do. I'm still confused about it all..." She brushed the tears away from her cheeks. "I'm not confused about what we have between us, though, Trent. I'm terrified when you talk about getting married, but not about the idea of being with you."

"I don't know about all of this. I'm having a hard time being in a relationship with him _and_ you."

"What are you saying?" The question came out in a garbled sob.

"I - I don't know," he said, shifting her off of his lap. He stood to his feet before her, glancing down at her trembling form. "I need to go work on something for Dr. Hardy. If you need me, you can call for me. I'll be in my office."

Claire's heart skidded to a halt. He'd went from perfectly normal to closed off in all of five minutes. All due to Dante. And once out of earshot, Claire allowed herself to submit to the sadness swelling in her gut, overcoming her and enveloping her in it's cold gasp. Only then did she release the tides of her emotions, lapping over her over and over again until she slipped off into a fitful sleep, her appetite forgotten. Even then the nightmares claimed her.

* * *

.

Trent's expert fingers smoothed along the sides of her swollen ankle, poking and prodding here and there, testing the mobility in the joints. He slipped on a new, bulkier brace, and handed Claire a bottle of pain medication she could take. Not once did his eyes meet her. He resumed his _all business _demeanor he held when they first met all those months ago, and it ignited anger within her. Anger for allowing Dante to ruin yet another aspect of her life. Here stood a man who, a month prior, showed to her how much he loved her, in a way no words would ever compass. A man who loved her - cradled her in his embrace as if he feared she would fly away and never return to him. Ironic, she thought, that he turned away from her, took to the wind, and flitted away from her.

He handed her a pair of crutches. His fingers brushed hers. A jolt jerked her body, but it went unnoticed. Instead Trent dipped his head and pulled his hand away from hers, a saddened look in his gaze. This hurt him, too, she knew. Dante kissed her, and she kissed him back; she understood why Trent suffered with the turmoil she put him through. He deserved someone unhindered and unchained by another. With Dante still in her life, chains locked her in place, limited her distance of exploration. Dante prevented her from the vast reality within her grasp. She hated him for it.

"I'll see you?"

He exhaled. "I have a lot of work to do."

Her lip tucked between her teeth. "I love you."

"I love you, too." A grin brightened her features. "I just need to think...let this all set in."

"Will you come over tomorrow?" she asked him. "Jack and Popuri have a date - so I figure I can cook us something for dinner."

"Let's see how much work I get done first."

She dipped her head. "O - okay."

* * *

.

Claire hobbled down the dirt path, her mind fixated on the inn in the distance. Inside dwelled Dante, ignorant to the stresses he plagued her with - even now. She shoved the door open, the hiss of the wind whipping against her ears. Ann opened her mouth to speak, enveloped in a conversation with Karen, and both girls glanced in the blonde's direction. She held her hand up to silence them, eyes planted on the stairway. Boot on foot, she clambered up the stairs, nearly tripping and falling over herself, until she reached Dante's room.

"Dante -"

"Oh, hi Rissa -"

"Don't _ever, _and I mean _ever _call me Rissa again! Whatever you and I had in the past is gone. Over!" Her voice lashed against her ears. "You are a disgusting human being, I'll have you know. You come here...claiming to want to apologize to me, and in the process sabotage the one thing that has helped me get over _you. _But I can't even have that - you just have to go ruin everything good in my life. Are you so full of pride that you can't let go of me? For what reason? This - you and me - is not going to happen. You claim you love me, yes?" He dipped his head. "Then let me go. Get out of my life. Leave me _alone!_"

"...Claire."

"Why are you talking to me? I want _nothing _to do with you." Her hands balled up into trembling fists. "_I hate you._ There, I said it. I _hate _you"

Dante rose to his feet. "You're going to regret ever saying that."

"I can assure you I won't."

"Claire?"

The girl paused at the doorframe. "Yes?"

"You really screwed up. You'll regret this."

A cackling sound met her ears. It took her a moment to realize the same had come from her own mouth. "_You _really screwed up."

"Claire."

She paused again, but did not respond.

"Go to hell, you bitch." Dante slammed the door after her.


End file.
